Australian cricketer Cooper Connolly has been called up to Australia’s Champions Trophy squad after their opening batter Matt Short was ruled out due to injury.

Connolly, who is a 21-year-old left-handed batter and left-arm spinner, has been a traveling reserve with the team and is available for immediate selection.

Although he has only played three ODIs, he may be considered for a spot in the lineup, especially since Australia has lost Short’s off-spin.

If the selectors choose to replace the opening batter with a similar player, they could go with Australian cricketer Jake Fraser-McGurk as the substitute, reports said.

Also, if they want to bring in another specialist spin bowler, they might adjust the team balance to include Australian cricketer Tanveer Sangha.

Fraser-McGurk, who stepped in for Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, has faced difficulties in his seven ODIs, scoring 98 runs at an average of 14.00 and appearing vulnerable against the new ball.

Australia found out that they would face India in the semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday after New Zealand lost in the final group match.

Both teams from Group B that qualified—Australia and South Africa—travelled to Dubai to allow the team playing India some time to prepare.

South Africa will return directly to Lahore for their semi-final against New Zealand.

Legspinner Adam Zampa is expected to play a crucial role for Australia in the semi-final, especially at a venue that has favoured spinners.

In their match against New Zealand, India utilised 37.3 overs of spin, with Indian cricketer Varun Chakravarthy taking five wickets for 42 runs.

But the fast bowlers, New Zealand cricketers Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, also posed problems for India’s top order early on.

Australia faced challenges against Sri Lanka’s spinners during their two ODIs in Colombo, leading up to the Champions Trophy.

“It changes a little bit,” Zampa said of the conditions between Pakistan and Dubai. “Potentially slower lower wickets, so there might be an opportunity to create a few more chances, we’ll see.”

Zampa added he felt there was room for improvement in his bowling after returns of 2 for 64 against England and 2 for 48 against Afghanistan.

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“Personally, I don’t think I’m bowling quite at my best, but I like to think the beauty about me is when I’m not quite at my best and not feeling that great out there is my ability to still contribute and take those big wickets,” he said.

“I’m obviously working on some stuff at the moment to hopefully get back to my best, but as I said, the ability to still do a job for the team and get those big wickets is still there, which to me is really important.”