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Adam Zampa, the Australian leg-spin bowler, had recently withdrawn his name from the Rajasthan Royals squad before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season began. During his recent interview, the 32-year-old spoke about feeling completely drained from 2023, which is why he couldn’t have offered the best version of himself to Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing IPL during the T20 World Cup year.
In the IPL 2023, Rajasthan Royals sporadically used Adam Zampa, in conditions where the pitches offered some help to the spinners. He made six appearances for the Jaipur-based franchise last season, picking up eight wickets at an average of 23.50 and an economy of 8.55.
I’m completely drained from 2023: Adam Zampa
While speaking in an interview on Willow Talk, Adam Zampa detailed the reasons leading him to withdraw his name from the Rajasthan Royals squad in the IPL 2024. He was quoted as saying, as per Indian Express, “There are several reasons why the IPL wasn’t for me this year. The most important one was the fact that it’s a World Cup year and I’m completely drained from 2023.”
“I did the full IPL last year. Obviously, the World Cup was three months in India as well. I had the best intentions of trying to play the IPL again this year. But once push came to shove, I felt like I just couldn’t really offer the Rajasthan Royals the best version of myself and looking forward to the World Cup, that’s what’s more important to me, that’s for sure,” the off-spinner who was part of the Australian team which won the 50-over World Cup last year,” he added.
I probably need to put my body and my mental first: Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa also spoke about prioritising his well-being in the T20 World Cup year, “It came down to my decision being I probably need to put my body and my mental health first. Then you throw other things into the equation as well, like the fact that I’ve got a young family. It’s not easy to spend nine weeks in India in my situation where I’m fighting for my spot in the team as well.
“It’s not like I can say to myself, ‘Well, that’s alright I’ve got 14 games to prepare for a World Cup’. I don’t know whether or not that’s going to be two games or four games or six games. I kind of worked out that maybe just to rest, putting my family first, putting my body first, was better for me,” concluded the Australian bowler.