New Melbourne Stars captain Adam Zampa will increase his workload during the upcoming BBL campaign in an attempt to press his case for selection on Australia's Test tour of India.
A dearth of red-ball cricket between now and next month's selection deadline has prompted Zampa to get creative as he chases a baggy green.
Having replaced injured teammate Glenn Maxwell as Stars skipper, Zampa plans to bowl more than ever in his bid to impress the national selectors.
The white-ball specialist ended his three-year Sheffield Shield absence last week, taking 3 for 57 in the first innings for New South Wales against Victoria, before ending with match figures of 3 for 106. A Test debut on the sub-continent is a huge carrot for the 30-year-old legspinner.
"It's there, it's in the mind," Zampa told reporters on Wednesday. "I played that Shield game for a reason and it was really nice to play a little bit of red-ball cricket and get the workloads up. I was just curious as to how it would feel and how it would go.
"My game's progressed, particularly in the last three years, to be valuable to the red-ball team. I know my record doesn't really speak for itself - it definitely doesn't - but I feel like I've improved could potentially suit those conditions."
Zampa faces a fight to join frontline spinner Nathan Lyon in India, agreeing with former Test tweaker Steve O'Keefe's assessment that Australia's spin-bowling stocks have never been better placed for a tour of India.
Mitchell Swepson and Todd Murphy are right in the mix, with Zampa also heaping praise on Ashton Agar, Matthew Kuhnemann and injured legspinner Tanveer Sangha.
"I'll never be Nathan Lyon, who is the No.1 spinner in the Australian team wherever you are in the world. I know that," Zampa said. "But in a series and a squad where you're going to have multiple spinners and you're going to need options, then I know that I'd be a chance.
"Hence why I'm keen to get on that tour if it happens, but it won't be like that forever. There's not subcontinent tours every year, they're every few years, so I know that my chances are limited."
Zampa will lead the Stars in his eighth season with the franchise after Maxwell was ruled out with a broken leg.
The thoughtful legspinner, touted as a possible future captain of Australia's T20 side, intends to take a "chilled out" approach to leadership.
"It's going to be about creating an environment where people don't have fear," Zampa said.
The Stars begin their hunt for a long-awaited BBL title against Sydney Thunder in Canberra on Tuesday.