Dhaka, Feb. 6 -- Australia's T20 World Cup campaign has suffered a severe blow just five days before their opening match, with pace bowler Josh Hazlewood officially ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

The news comes as a double blow for the 2021 champions, who had already lost Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins to injury earlier.

Hazlewood, who has been battling ongoing hamstring and Achilles issues, did not travel with the squad to co-host nation Sri Lanka earlier this week.

Instead, he remained in Sydney for rehabilitation. Cricket Australia (CA) selector Tony Dodemaide confirmed that while the team had hoped for a late recovery, the timeline was too tight.

"We were hoping Josh would be fit to return for the Super Eights matche...