“It’s pretty rare for a cricketer these days to get three months off, so I’m really going to make the most of it.”
Zampa is currently in Pakistan preparing for Australia’s three-match ODI series and one-off T20 clash. But with his wife due to give birth in June, Zampa is expected to miss the mid-year tour of Sri Lanka, which features three T20s, five ODIs, and two Tests.
The T20 World Cup starts on October 16, and Zampa is confident he will have enough cricket under his belt despite the long mid-year break.
“It’s pretty rare for a cricketer these days to get three months off, so I’m really going to make the most of it,” Zampa said ahead of Tuesday’s ODI series opener against Pakistan in Lahore.
“Potentially the next game of cricket that I’ll have is the 100-ball competition [starting in August], and then we’ve got a lot of cricket after that. I sat down with [selector] George Bailey yesterday and there’s potentially 15 games of cricket for me before the World Cup.
“There’s going to be a lot of rest coming up for me, but then definitely enough cricket before it gets real again.”
“I feel like I don’t have to look over my shoulder too much with selection,” Zampa said. “When you’re younger, you naturally probably look over your shoulder, you doubt yourself a lot more.
“Aaron Finch has helped me massively with my game. He backs me in when I’m out there, and he lets me run my own show with my bowling, and has been really good with his own ideas as well.
“I’ve been in this team for six years now. You never want to use the word comfortable, but I definitely back myself in a lot more these days.
“I can go out there and maybe experiment and put things on the line for the team to try to do my role.”
Australia are brimming with confidence after securing a 1-0 Test series win in Pakistan. But with stars such as David Warner, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Steven Smith all missing from the white-ball component of the tour, Australia face a challenge to come away with victory.
“It’s going to be a difficult challenge,” Zampa said. “The plus that comes from that, as it always does when these things happen, is you build depth.”
