Pallekele, February 16 Senior Australian batsman Steve Smith was approved on Monday to replace injured fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, just hours before his team's must-win T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka here.
Smith thus becomes the 15th member of the injury-hit Australian squad.
"Smith is named as a replacement for Hazlewood, who is now officially ruled out of 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 statement.
Smith had earlier been flown to Sri Lanka as cover for captain Mitchell Marsh, who missed Australia's opening two matches due to a testicular injury.
The veteran batsman trained with the squad on Sunday and is in contention to play in the crucial match.
Smith has not played a T20I since February last year but has been in good form in the format in domestic competitions.
For the 2021 champions, Marsh has also returned to training. The captain batted in the nets while also participating in running and fielding drills on Sunday.
Australia's World Cup campaign is in jeopardy after their 23-run defeat to Zimbabwe, and they must beat Sri Lanka on Monday to avoid an early exit.
