Brett Lee ruled out of T20 World Cup

Australia's campaign at the Twenty20 World Cup suffered a jolt on Wednesday as pacer Brett Lee was ruled out of the elite event after injuring his bowling arm.

Lee suffered the injury during the Tuesday's warm-up game against minnows Zimbabwe. The Australians lost by one run.

A few weeks back, Lee's IPL stint was also hit by a fracture in the thumb of his right hand.

According to the team spokesman, Lee strained a muscle in his right elbow.

"It's a muscle strain. We have gone to the ICC Technical Committee to ask for a replacement player," the spokesman was quoted as saying by local media.

The replacement player is most likely to be either Doug Bollinger or Ryan Harris.

Both the pacers put up a good show at IPL-III, with Bollinger's team -- Chennai Super Kings -- winning the tournament.

Australia will play their opening game against defending champions Pakistan on Sunday in St Lucia.