England’s Luke Wright ruled out of World Twenty20

Mirpur: England all-rounder Luke Wright was ruled out of the World Twenty20 with a side strain on Saturday, while recuperating Australian James Faulkner will miss Sunday’s super 10 match against Pakistan.

Barely hours before the already-depleted English side begin their Super 10 campaign against New Zealand in Chittagong, 29-year-old Wright joined Joe Root and Ben Stokes in being forced out of the former winners’ squad with an injury.

“The Event Technical Committee...has approved Craig Kieswetter as a replacement player for Luke Wright in the England men’s squad,” the International Cricket Council said in a statement.

Like Wright, South Africa-born Kieswetter was part of England’s 2010 World Twenty20 winning side.

Faulkner’s wait on the sidelines also got prolonged as the 23-year-old continues to recover from a knee surgery that forced him out of Australia’s Test tour of South Africa.

“He will miss tomorrow’s game,” Australia captain George Bailey told reporters, still optimistic that the bowling all-rounder would play a pivotal role in the tournament and beyond.

“I think his record is pretty handy in Twenty20. He’s certainly played a huge role in Twenty20 and one-day teams since his debut.

“He’s a really important player for us, he’s really versatile, adds another dimension to our team. We are just monitoring him. I think the way he plays, he’d become more and more important to us as the tournament progresses.”