Medical scans revealed internal testicular bleeding after March was hit in the groin
Steve Smith is included as cover to get used to Sri Lankan conditions
Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are already out of the T20 World Cup
Australia's T20 World Cup campaign, which has already been marred by injuries to their premier pacers - Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins- suffered yet another setback when their captain, Mitchell Marsh, was ruled out of the opener against Ireland just minutes before the toss.
Mitchell Marsh was hit in the groin area during practice this week, and internal testicular bleeding was revealed later in the medical scans. Despite the injury, he attended the pre-match press conference on the eve of their opening clash against Ireland, but the news of his ouster from the playing XI broke just 15 minutes before the toss on Wednesday.
Steve Smith has been called in by Australia to Sri Lanka as a travelling standby to get accustomed to conditions, in case Mitchell Marsh's condition doesn't get batter and he needs to be replaced by the right-handed Australian veteran.
"He [Marsh] is experiencing ongoing pain and discomfort which is restricting his movement," a CA statement said. "Scans have confirmed internal testicular bleeding, and he will require a period of rest and rehabilitation. His return to play will be guided by symptom resolution and medical advice.
"Standby player Steven Smith will travel to Sri Lanka as cover to acclimatise and prepare, should he be required."
Steve Smith's exclusion from Australia's T20I squad for the World Cup raised some eyebrows in the cricketing circle given his exceptional performances in the BBL, where he plummeted 299 runs at 59.80 at an astonishing strike rate of 167.97 in six innings.
Mitchell Marsh's unavailability left Australia with only 12 players to choose from for the fixture against Ireland, as Josh Hazlewood's replacement has yet to be announced by Cricket Australia.
Tim David, who's also making a comeback after injury, will only be available from the next match against Zimbabwe. Sean Abbott is travelling with the team but only as a reserve and has not been announced as an official part of the squad yet.
