"Adam Zampa is almost like Michael Jordan in the Last Dance"

The top-ranked T20I bowler, Wanindu Hasaranga is all set to go face to face against Adam Zampa in the five-match T20I series against Australia, starting on Friday (February 11) in Sydney. The Australian legspinner is three spots behind Hasaranga on the ICC T20 bowling rankings and his teammate Kane Richardson believes Zampa would be eager to out-bowl his opposite number in the Sri Lankan camp.

"No doubt he's one of the stars of their team. He's taken the world game by storm in the last the past 12 months," Richardson, speaking on the Unplayable Podcast, said of Hasaranga. "He picked up an IPL deal on the back of 'Zamps' pulling out, which is a funny one as well. That's kind of a side story to it all.

"Zamps always has these little battles, especially in the leg-spinning and spinning departments. He's almost like Michael Jordan in the Last Dance (Netflix documentary) when he was always looking for some kind of motivation to like beat someone. That's what he's like. No doubt he'll be trying to out-bowl him.”

The 24-year-old legspinner from Sri Lanka has a phenomenal record in the shortest format of the game, having scalped 52 wickets in 33 encounters at an average of 13.71 and an economy rate of 6.21. In the previous edition of the T20 World Cup, Hasaranga claimed 16 wickets and operated at an economy of just 5.2. Meanwhile, Zampa took 13 scalps and conceded runs at an impressive rate of just 5.81. 

Talking to cricket.com.au, former Sri Lanka batter Russel Arnold said: "He's the guy we've been relying on as Sri Lankans. Quietly, he's been making it. He's keeping up to the expectations, or the belief that he's created about himself. He's got a good attitude and, unlike most Sri Lankans, he's not timid.

"He's kind of a street fighter, always looking to make things happen and he'll look to compete. That's the kind of quality that's pushing him on and on.

"He goes low – he gets the ball to not bounce as much, which works for him. Similar to Zampa – bowl wicket-to-wicket and don't turn it a lot. Just a few slight variations in pace and deviation which gets them in. When you come to Australia, he should look at Zampa and see what he does different.

"The fact is that the type of bowler he is, he doesn't need too much (assistance) off the pitch. He bowls a good wrong'un and that's the kind of delivery that a lot of people struggle to pick. Considering that the T20 World Cup is (in Australia) at the end of the year, I think it's ideal timing to see how they go, figure out what they need to work on and improve their game."