Zampa expected to perform well

Steve Smith's close relationship with Adam Zampa is set to get the best out of the young leg-spinner in the World T20.

Smith has been there every step of the way with Zampa, playing alongside the 23-year-old when he made his first-class and 50-over debut for NSW, and was the captain when the leggie represented Australia for the first time last month.

Quick Single: World T20 fixture

It was Zampa's impressive maiden one-day international campaign against New Zealand, where he bowled economically and took key wickets under pressure, that clinched his spot in Australia's World T20 squad.

"Yeah I've seen him play for a long time now and I know his skill set pretty well so I think that does help a little bit when captaining someone you're pretty close to," Smith said.

"I've seen him come along way and I've seen him learn and develop really well and hopefully he can bowl really for us in this World Cup.

"I think he's improved a lot over the last couple of years.

"I thought he bowled beautifully in South Africa (the tour preceding the World T20) and I thought he bowled really well in the one-dayers he played in New Zealand as well. 

"He's got a lot of variations. He reads the batsmen really well which I think is very important in this format of the game and he's very confident in his skill set."

Zampa is an integral part in Australia's World T20 campaign on Indian wickets expected to take turn.

The pitch in Dharamshala – the venue of Australia's first match against New Zealand next Friday – has been slow and spun significantly in the qualifying matches preceding the Super10 phase of the tournament.

And it's the playing conditions that will determine whether Zampa is the sole spinner selected or if he is complemented by Perth Scorchers tweaker Ashton Agar.

"We'll sum that up as we go along," Smith said when asked if Zampa and Agar could play in the same side. 

"Obviously we've got Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa here along with Glenn Maxwell who bowls spin as well so we've got plenty of options. 

"It's just about summing it up on the day and what we expect from the wicket and the opposition

"We've got plenty of options here which is nice."

Those options extend beyond spinners. Australia played five genuine allrounders in their final T20 against South Africa, and Smith says it is one of Australia's key strengths.  

"I think a lot of our allrounders are bowling extremely well at the moment which helps as well," he said.  

"All of our allrounders are very powerful with the bat and that's what you need in T20 cricket. 

"They're doing a good job for us and hopefully they can continue to do a good job for us in this tournament."