AUS vs PAK: Injured Cooper Connolly Ruled Out of T20I Series, Likely to be Replaced by Josh Philippe

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Cooper Connolly has been ruled out of Australia's upcoming T20I series against Pakistan after scans revealed that the young all-rounder has fractured his left hand following a blow he received during the ODI series decider.

In the third ODI against Pakistan on Sunday (November 10), Connolly took a blow on his hand on the second ball of the 17th over delivered by Mohammad Hasnain in Perth while trying to pull away the ball.

Connolly, who was making his second ODI appearance, faced another delivery before realising the amount of discomfort he was facing. Physios came for a quick assessment, and after the check, he left the field for scans to determine the extent of his injury.

After the match ended, a Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed that Connolly had suffered a fracture on the fourth metacarpal and has subsequently been ruled out of the Pakistan T20I series.

Australia are yet to name a replacement for the T20Is, but a latest report suggests that wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe will be added to the squad that will be led by Josh Inglis, who made his captaincy debut in the ODI series decider on Sunday (November 10).

Philippe, primarily a wicketkeeper, can bat at the top of the order. The 27-year-old has played in 12 T20Is so far with his last appearance coming nearly a year ago when Australia toured India. In 12 T20Is, Philippe has scored just 150 runs at a strike rate of 109.48.

While his international numbers don't make for a good reading, Philippe's overall T20 stats are decent with the wicketkeeper-batter scoring 2628 runs in 111 innings in the shortest format, striking at 133.67

With the Test regulars preparing for the much anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy against India, only Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa are some of the experienced players in the T20I side to face Pakistan. Here is a look at the squad:

Australia squad for T20I series vs Pakistan

Josh Inglis (captain), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.