Former Australia assistant coach Sridharan Sriram thinks that the Pat Cummins-led side has missed a trick by not picking leg-spinner Adam Zampa for the Test series in India, beginning on February 9.

Veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar, leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and young off-spinner Todd Murphy got the nod in the 18-member Australia squad with Zampa missing out.

“I would have personally loved to see Zamps bowl here (in India), because he’s got the pace, he’s got that zip off the pitch,” Sriram, who was associated with the Australian team for six years, was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

“That’s something I keep an eye out for — who has got the ability to beat you off the pitch — so I think that Zamps has got that,” said Sriram, who has also played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004.

Sriram revealed that Zampa was extremely keen to tour India. “He wanted it more than anyone, he wanted to play Test matches in India, he had called me a couple of times a couple of months ago saying ‘Sri, I’m so excited that I could be on that tour’.”

Sriram said the challenges of sustaining spin at a high level for long periods will Test Australia in India. “You can bowl a bit slower or a bit quicker, but you still need that zip off the pitch, and for that your action needs to be really strong. What Ashwin and Jadeja and Nathan Lyon do really well is being able to hold their action for long periods of time,” he explained.

Written with inputs from PTI