Will Zampa get a place in the Playing XI of RCB? Because they already have lot of spinners.

I would say that in a nutshell playing Adam Zampa might turn out to be a risky proportion for Royal Challengers Bangalore but having said so if the conditions and situations do end up assisting RCB then Adam Zampa might turn out to be an asset for Virat Kohli in the upcoming edition.

If you go through the squad of Royal Challengers Bangalore, you could see that Royal Challengers Bangalore have a plethora of spinners to choose from. There is Yuzvendra Chahal, who is RCB’s premier leg-spinner. He will be partnered with Washington Sundar who is an right arm off-spinner. Then there is Pawan Negi waiting in the wings who is a slow left arm orthodox. Also not to forget Moeen Ali who is expected to be RCB’s first choice Overseas All-rounder and he would be also required to bowl his off-spin most of the times.

However the list does not end here. RCB also has the cushion of domestic tweakers in the form of Gurkeekat Singh Mann, Pavan Deshpandey and Shahbaz Ahmed who can all step up if one of the lead spinners gets injured and are required to be replaced.

Overall the RCB Squad looks spin-rich with a lot of varieties. Comparatively the overseas pace battery looks bleaker with the likes of Dale Steyn, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana and Kane Richardson. Now with Kane Richardson withdrawing himself from IPL 2020, a lot of onus will fall on Chris Morris as you cannot expect a fit and fresh Dale Steyn for the entire length of the tournament.

To make things more confusing, Adam Zampa , the Aussie leggie has been roped in as a replacement of Kane Richardson, which has already been termed as a tactical blooper by many.

However, this goof up can prove to be a master stroke for Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore in certain scenarios and Adam Zampa could well end up being Virat’s trump card in IPL 2020.

Scenario 1: Yuzvendra Chahal gets injured.

Now this would be the worst case scenario as a lot of RCB’s fortunes depend on the performance of Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal is not only RCB’s lead spinner but also Virat’s go to bowler when the team needs a wicket or two in crunch situations. However having said so, Cricket has been a cruel game at times. One bad niggle or a finger injury can draw curtains to any player’s chances of playing. In case of such unfortunate string of events taking place RCB could look for Adam Zampa to fill in Chahal’s shoes and being a wrist spinner he would be a like for like replacement in case Chahal gets unavailable.

(Trust me you won't see him like this ever again…:p)

Scenario 2: Spin becomes the order of the day.

IPL 2020 is scheduled to take place entirely in UAE this time. The league matches would be played in three venues namely- Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Now it is observed that pitches in UAE are conducive to spin. And with such a lengthy tournament, the pitches would further wear out with every passing day. The pitches would turn low and slow; unless a fresh strip is provided it would benefit the spinners and that's when wrist-spinners and bowlers who can bowl cutters would come into play.

So RCB can bank on the exploits of Zampa if such a scenario occurs during the course of IPL.

Scenario 3: Virat decides to attack from the word go with spin.

Now it is not a hidden fact that spin has to be the strength of RCB's bowling and the quicker Virat Kohli realizes it the better it is for the team. Personally, I would want Virat Kohli to attack the opponent by bringing on a spinner in the Powerplays itself. RCB has done it so in the past with Samuel Badree. Also most of the teams have an explosive overseas opener at the top order and it is not a secret anymore that overseas players struggle against spin in the early part of their innings. So Virat Kohli may throw in the new ball to Adam Zampa and let his ball do the talking.

Scenario 4: RCB opts for horses for the courses approach.

Although this looks highly unlikely but with Virat Kohli at helm you can expect him to spring in a few surprises.

If you are a serious observer of cricket, you will know that left arm orthodox and right arm leg spinners are highly instrumental against right handed batsmen because of their natural angle that moves the ball away from the batsman .The same logic holds for right arm off spinner and china-man bowlers against left handed batsmen.

In IPL there are certain sides that are stacked by a lot of right handers in the lineup and that's when the Zampa factor can come into play.

For eg- Let us take the example of Chennai Super Kings. Their batting order looks packed with right-handers and with Raina being unavailable, we could often see that batting line up would comprise majorly of right handers. And it would be tactically sound to attack with a leg spinner against CSK.

And who knows this might be the best strategy to get past one of the successful franchises in IPL history.

Now if Virat Kohli can chalk out this strategy and throw in Zampa against the right-handers, then I think he can more effectively use Zampa and who knows it might end up being the most tactical move in RCB's history in their quest for the title.