<p>Former Australian skipper <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/steve-smith">Steve Smith </a>has been named as replacement for the injured pacer Josh Hazlewood, hours before his side's crunch <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/t20-world-cup">ICC T20 World Cup 2026 </a>match against Sri Lanka in Colombo</p><p>The 36-year-old thus becomes the 15th member of the injury-hit Australia squad.</p><p>"Smith is named as a replacement for Hazlewood, who is now officially ruled out from participating in the tournament due to a calf injury. The team's medical staff had hoped to have him fit in time to feature in the latter parts of the tournament but were unsuccessful," the ICC said in a media release.</p>.<p>Smith had earlier been flown to Sri Lanka as cover for skipper Mitchell Marsh, who missed Australia's opening two matches due to a testicular injury.</p><p>The veteran batter trained with the squad on Sunday (February 15) and is in contention to feature in the crucial clash.</p><p>Smith has not played a T20I since February last year but has been in good form in the format in domestic competitions.</p><p>In positive signs for the 2021 champions, Marsh too has returned to training. The skipper batted in the nets while also taking part in running and fielding drills on Sunday.</p>.ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | First upset of the tournament as Zimbabwe stun Australia by 23 runs.<p>Australia's ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign is hanging in the balance following their shock 23-run loss to Zimbabwe, and they must beat Sri Lanka on Monday (February 16) to avoid an early exit.</p><p>The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad.</p><p>The Event Technical committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 comprises Wasim Khan (Chair, ICC General Manager - Cricket), Gaurav Saxena (ICC General Manager – Events & Corporate Communications, IBC representative), Hemang Amin (Tournament Director, host representative) and Shaun Pollock (Independent nominee).</p><p>(With ICC Media inputs)</p>
<p>Former Australian skipper <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/steve-smith">Steve Smith </a>has been named as replacement for the injured pacer Josh Hazlewood, hours before his side's crunch <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/t20-world-cup">ICC T20 World Cup 2026 </a>match against Sri Lanka in Colombo</p><p>The 36-year-old thus becomes the 15th member of the injury-hit Australia squad.</p><p>"Smith is named as a replacement for Hazlewood, who is now officially ruled out from participating in the tournament due to a calf injury. The team's medical staff had hoped to have him fit in time to feature in the latter parts of the tournament but were unsuccessful," the ICC said in a media release.</p>.<p>Smith had earlier been flown to Sri Lanka as cover for skipper Mitchell Marsh, who missed Australia's opening two matches due to a testicular injury.</p><p>The veteran batter trained with the squad on Sunday (February 15) and is in contention to feature in the crucial clash.</p><p>Smith has not played a T20I since February last year but has been in good form in the format in domestic competitions.</p><p>In positive signs for the 2021 champions, Marsh too has returned to training. The skipper batted in the nets while also taking part in running and fielding drills on Sunday.</p>.ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | First upset of the tournament as Zimbabwe stun Australia by 23 runs.<p>Australia's ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign is hanging in the balance following their shock 23-run loss to Zimbabwe, and they must beat Sri Lanka on Monday (February 16) to avoid an early exit.</p><p>The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad.</p><p>The Event Technical committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 comprises Wasim Khan (Chair, ICC General Manager - Cricket), Gaurav Saxena (ICC General Manager – Events & Corporate Communications, IBC representative), Hemang Amin (Tournament Director, host representative) and Shaun Pollock (Independent nominee).</p><p>(With ICC Media inputs)</p>