England among three teams forced to make T20 World Cup squad changes
England are among the three sides to make squad changes for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 with injury hitting the different camps just ahead of the Super 12 stage.
England quick Topley rolled his ankle while stepping on a boundary cushion during a fielding drill ahead of the warm-up match against Pakistan. The injury turned out to be a big blow for England with Topley ruled out of the tournament in Australia.
Tymal Mills, who is a travelling reserve player in the squad, has been named as his replacement. 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.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have suffered a big blow in their quest to reach the Super 12 stage with in-form pacer Dushmantha Chameera out injured and replaced in the squad by Kasun Rajitha. But that's not the only injury news from the camp.
Top-order batter Danushka Gunathilaka has had a hamstring tear and is replaced by Ashen Bandara, who is a travelling reserve.
Chameera 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 for backup by asking Rajitha to fly over for the remainder of the event.
UAE were also forced to make a squad change with all-rounder Zawar Farid out injured with a fractured foot and replaced by Fahad Nawaz.
With useful experience in Australian conditions, England will hope that Mills steps in seamlessly to fill the void. However, Topley's absence will be a big blow for England. Incidentally, it was Topley who replaced Mills in 2021 when the left-arm quick was ruled out of the tournament in UAE.
The 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.
Sri Lanka currently sit in third place in Group A and need to defeat the Netherlands to ensure they progress through to the final 12.
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.
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