“He’ll sit out most of the season” – Wasim Jaffer on Adam Zampa as RR sign the Aussie in IPL 2023 auction

Wasim Jaffer feels that the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) have bought way too many backups for their premier spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal at the IPL 2023 auction.

The former Indian cricketer believes that quality Aussie spinner Adam Zampa will have to sit on the bench. He added that Murugan Ashwin and KC Cariappa will likely have a similar fate.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Jaffer said:

“Last year, they didn’t have any backup for Ashwin and Chahal. Now, they’ve got far too many. They’ve got Zampa, Murugan Ashwin, and Cariappa.”

He continued:

“Azam Zampa going to a franchise, probably they should have thought that he would have gone to Mumbai Indians makes more sense, probably he’ll sit out most of the season because Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal playing there.”

So far, Zampa has picked up 21 wickets in 14 IPL games at a decent economy rate of 7.74. He pulled out of the 2021 season midway (playing for RR) and then didn't find a buyer last season.

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"That was a massive win for them [RR]" - Tom Moody on Jason Holder

Tom Moody, meanwhile, has credited the Jaipur-based franchise for buying the West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder for Rs 5.75 crore. He has played 38 IPL games, with 49 wickets and 247 runs under his belt.

The former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach told the aforementioned publication:

“I thought their signing of Jason Holder was a very good signing. That was a massive win for them.”

Moody, meanwhile, believes that Joe Root wouldn’t be able to find a place in the playing XI unless someone gets injured. He said:

“Joe Root, he’ll be sitting on the bench unless there's any injury issues.”

Jaffer also added that England’s Joe Root will have to warm the bench on his debut IPL season owing to the quality batters in the RR ranks.

He said:

“Joe Root will be sitting on the bench, I think he can come with the red ball and prepare for the Ashes.”

For the uninitiated, RR bought four overseas and five Indian players in the auction. They are Jason Holder (Rs 5.75 crore), Adam Zampa (Rs 1.5 crore), Joe Root (Rs 1 crore), Donovan Ferreira (Rs 50 lakh), KM Asif (Rs 30 lakh), Abdul PA, Akash Vashisht, Kunal Rathore, and Murugan Ashwin (Rs 20 lakh each).

Retained players: Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa.