IPL 2020: Adam Zampa replaces Kane Richardson in the RCB squad
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have announced that Adam Zampa will replace fast bowler Kane Richardson in their squad for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020).
The Australian leg-spinner last played in the IPL for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2016 and 2017 editions, and even registered a six-wicket haul against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His figures of 6/19 are the third-best in the history of the IPL. However, Zampa went unsold in the IPL 2020 auction at his base price of 1.5 crores.
Richardson and his wife are expecting their first child soon, which is the reason behind the Kangaroos pacer pulling out of the tournament.
Player changes far too frequent ahead of IPL 2020
Richardson is the latest in a long line of player replacements ahead of IPL 2020. Chris Woakes was one of the first to pull out of the tournament as he wanted to spend more time with his wife. His English teammate Jason Roy also recently withdrew from IPL 2020, citing that he wants to use the time to improve his fitness.
Chennai Super Kings vice-captain Suresh Raina chose to head back to India, with his teammates testing positive for COVID-19 reported to be the reason behind his decision.
Most of the franchises have started training in the UAE, with RCB captain Virat Kohli and South African superstar AB de Villiers recently hitting the nets. The Bangalore outfit will attempt to win their first-ever title in IPL 2020, and Zampa may just have a key role to play on the spin-friendly UAE pitches.
However, the 28-year-old may not be a sureshot fixture in the playing XI owing to the presence of Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and overseas off-spinner Moeen Ali.
In 147 career T20 games, Zampa has scalped 169 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.22