Melbourne, Feb 01: Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been ruled out of Friday's Twenty20 cricket international against India because of a back injury.
Cricket Australia made the announcement on the morning of the match.
Ponting had been bothered by pain in his lower back during the fourth test against India in Adelaide. It was unclear if he would be available for Australia's series-opening one-day international against India at Brisbane on Sunday.
Brad Hodge replaced Ponting in the Twenty20 batting lineup, with Michael Clarke expected to assume the captaincy.
India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year, knocking Australia out in the process.
Australia is the three-time defending champion in the traditional limited-overs format, 50-overs aside, and is the No 1-ranked test nation.
Bureau Report
