England have lost yet another player after Reece Topley was ruled out of the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. The veteran suffered an injury to his ankle during a fielding drill, forcing the side to make a change to their team. In fact, England are among three teams who have had to take approvals from the ICC to name replacements for their injured players.
Topley rolled his ankle while stepping on a boundary cushion during a fielding drill before England's warm-up match against Pakistan. The injury will be a big blow for England and the side have named Tymal Mills as his replacement. Mills had played a key role in England's T20 World Cup campaign in 2021, but he was also plagued with injuries with the team then.
England will hope that Mills can step up in Topley's absence. The now-injured left-arm quick is England's leading wicket-taker in T20Is in 2022 with 17 wickets at an average of 28.0 and an economy rate of 7.80. Topley has been quite effective in the Powerplay and death overs for England.
But the worst affected of the lot are the Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka, who lost two more players after their second Group A match against the UAE. in-form pacer Dushmantha Chameera had to walk off injured. He has been replaced by Kasun Rajitha.
Chameera was joined in the medical room by top-order batter Danushka Gunathilaka, who had a hamstring tear and will be replaced by Ashen Bandara, another travelling reserve.
The pacer hurt his left calf while bowling during Sri Lanka's comprehensive 79-run victory over the UAE on Tuesday and team officials have decided to call Rajitha for the remainder of the event. Chameera has four wickets through Sri Lanka's first two matches in Australia and his absence will rob skipper Dasun Shanaka of a valuable new ball option and a reliable operator at the death.
Sri Lanka currently sits in third place in Group A and to defeat the Netherlands to ensure they progress through to the final 12.
