The opening batter was ruled out of the ongoing tournament after he suffered a calf injury during the Afghanistan game in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025.
Following the game, Australia captain Steve Smith had raised doubts over Matt Short’s participation in their semi-final.
“I think he’ll be struggling. I think we saw tonight he wasn’t moving very well and I think it’s probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover,” he said after a post-match interview.
Australia has now confirmed that all-rounder Cooper Connolly, who was picked as a traveling reserve, will replace Matt Short in the Australia squad ahead of their semi-final against India in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025.
Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finalists’ lineup up completed
The young all-rounder has featured in six internationals for Australia, of which three have been ODIs.
Cooper Connolly is a left-handed batter and bowls left-arm spin.
Australia squad:
Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha and Adam Zampa.
It is to be noted that Australia finished second in Group B and will face India in the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday, March 4.
New Zealand will take on South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday, March 5.
The winners of these two matches will meet in the final on Sunday, March 9, with the venue yet to be confirmed.
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