Former-Australia assistant coach Sridharan Sriram is disappointed that spinner Adam Zampa is not with the touring team for the 4-match Test series against India starting on February 9.
Sriram said that Zampa has the ability to "hold" his action for extended periods of time, similar to Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, which Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson may find challenging in the challenging subcontinental conditions.
In the 18-person Australia squad, veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon, Agar, leg-spinner Swepson, and youthful off-spinner Todd Murphy received the nod, while Zampa was left out.
The 30-year-old wrist spinner's ability to zip the ball will be greatly missed by Pat Cummins' side during the Border-Gavaskar series, according to Sriram, who worked with the Australian squad for six years.
Sriram was cited by the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday as stating, "I personally would have loved to see Zamps bowl here (in India), because he's got the pace, he's got that zip off the pitch."
Sriram, who also played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004 stated, "That's something I keep an eye out for, who has the ability to beat you off the pitch, so I think that Zamps has that."
With more than 9,500 first-class runs under his belt, Sriram, another domestic heavyweight, said Zampa was really eager to tour India and had even called him up a few times.
"He wanted to play Test matches in India more than anyone, and he called me a few times a few months ago to express his excitement about being selected for the tour. As a result of his desire, he began to play first-class cricket for NSW. He did well, taking three wickets in each innings, thus his absence from the tour is regrettable.
Australia will be tested by the difficulties of maintaining high spin for extended periods, according to Sriram.
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