Australian spinner Adam Zampa has declared opening batter David Warner is primed to match his player of the tournament feats at the 2021 T20 World Cup, when this year’s tournament gets underway later this month.
Australia will open its campaign against New Zealand at the SCG on October 22, looking to defend the title it won 12 months ago.
Warner made 75 from 41 balls against the West Indies on Friday and backed it up with 73 off 44 against England on Sunday.
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It’s a far cry from the situation a year ago, when his spot in the team was being questioned. That came after he was dropped from his IPL franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
”Davey’s a big game player,” Zampa told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports Radio.
“People this time last year were questioning whether or not he was in our best T20 side, which is just unbelievable to look back on.
“Davey’s probably, in my opinion, our best T20 player of all time.
”I love going out on the field with Davey, he was player of the tournament last World Cup and I think he’ll probably give it a close crack again this World Cup.”
There’s still some uncertainty about the makeup of Australia’s best side, with Aaron Finch having batted at four against England while Cameron Green, who’s not in the World Cup squad, opened in his place.
But Zampa admitted the selectors have been tight-lipped on the likely side to play New Zealand.
“There hasn’t been too much indication,” he said.
“We’ve all seen the rise of Tim David, Cameron Green is not in the squad but we’ve seen him get some opportunities. At the moment you try to get as much game time into as many people as possible, with the World Cup in mind.
“It’s going to be something the selectors keep pretty close to their chest.”
Australia downed the West Indies in both of their recent matches, but England prevailed in the first of the current three-match series.
The leg-spinner conceded that although these matches are full internationals, the players have their eyes firmly on the World Cup.
“The group’s in good spirits, it’s a bit of a weird feeling at the moment in terms of the preparation,” he said.
“I have a bit of a feeling that most teams are pretty keen to get rolling with the World Cup, but we’ve got these games against England which are good for some game time.
“I feel like people are pretty excited for the real World Cup games to start.
“It’s obviously pretty exciting to be defending our title, but to be defending it at home in front of family and friends, it’s going to be super exciting for us.”
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