England have replaced Reece Topley with Tymal Mills after the seamer has been ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 due to an ankle injury, dealing a major blow to the team's campaign beginning on Saturday. (More Cricket News)
The 28-year-old left-armer rolled his left ankle during a fielding drill in Brisbane on Monday ahead of England's final warm-up match against Pakistan. Mills was initially named as a travelling reserve with the team.
Mills had played a key role in England's T20 World Cup campaign in 2021, but injury had cut down his time with the team then. In last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE, Mills played four matches, picking up seven wickets, before his tournament was ended by a thigh injury.
Advertisement
Topley is England's leading wicket-taker in T20Is in 2022, with 17 scalps in 16 games and became an integral part of the team’s bowling attack. England open their campaign against Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka too suffered twin blows after in-form pacer Dushmantha Chameera and top-order batter Danushka Gunathilaka were ruled out due to injuries. The development comes as a huge setback for the Lankans in their quest to qualify for the Super 12 stage.
Chameera is being replaced by Kasun Rajitha while Ashen Bandara comes in place of Gunathilaka (who had a hamstring tear). Chameera hurt his left calf while bowling during Sri Lanka's comprehensive 79-run victory over the UAE on Tuesday.
Advertisement
United Arab Emirates (UAE) too were forced to make a change with all-rounder Zawar Farid ruled out injured with a fractured foot and replaced by Fahad Nawaz.
