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Now a PSL star, Zampa dives deep into the mentality of IPL franchises and says he is not the only one to be undervalued

Zampa says the IPL franchises prefer domestic spinners and many like him from abroad haven't had a great time there.

Updated on: Apr 3, 2026, 12:37:17 IST
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There is no doubt that when it comes to white-ball cricket, there are not many as good as Aussie spinner Adam Zampa. So, when he decided to pull out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for the ongoing season, many were surprised. However, the leg-spinner recently explained that not getting enough money as well as the length of the IPL played a role in his not choosing the high-profile league.

Too much cricket at IPL can also lead to injuries. (PTI)
Too much cricket at IPL can also lead to injuries. (PTI)

Zampa instead joined the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where, in view of the length of the competition (shorter compared to the IPL), the payment is acceptable to him. Karachi Kings’ Zampa is right to some extent. There are not many examples that out-and-out spinners from abroad get exceptional money in the IPL.

Overseas batsmen, fast bowlers and all-rounders,more often than not, fetch great money in line with the big monetary reputation of the league.

Also Read: Cricketer set to be charged after walking out on a live match to take a flight to the UK

In an interview to ESPNcricinfo, the legspinner discussed the matter at length and said almost all IPL teams prefer to play domestic spinners over their overseas spinners. So, the call he made wasn’t without some prior bad experience.

Some valid points there!

"My skillset doesn't get the same value there, and you can understand the auction dynamics at the IPL always leans towards fast bowlers or all-rounders. They go to domestic spinners more often than not in that competition. I think legspinners being undervalued is specific to the IPL. It's always been the case. You even look through good Australian legspinners who come to mind. Brad Hogg played a little bit of IPL. Shane Warne played a bit of IPL. No one else, really.

"You look at Adil Rashid, who's had limited opportunities; he's one of the best to have done it. Overseas spinners are valued in the English competitions, and certainly in the Big Bash. Basically, every other competition. Overseas finger spinners as well. In the IPL, they're few and far between unless you can hit it out of the park or you're a mystery spinner. So the fact that I can't hit the ball out of the ring isn't helpful to that either, but being a finger spinner and finger spinner only, it's hard to get a gig at [the IPL]," Zampa, who is making 60 per cent less money than he made with Sunrisers Hyderabad last year (approximately USD 258,000) in the IPL, said.

A lot of cricket can lead to injuries too. That could be another reason for Zampa. He had picked up injury last season and had to pull out on account of that, after just featuring in two matches.

  • Prateek Srivastava
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Prateek Srivastava

    Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age.   In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there.   After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month.   Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser.   While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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