The Ireland captain landed awkwardly on hard ground after taking a diving catch against Australia on Wednesday night and with scans showing more serious damage than was first thought, he has been replaced by Antrim-born left-hander Sam Topping.

“Sam has been with the Northern Knights training squad in Chennai and has been playing and training in similar conditions to Sri Lanka,” Graeme West, the Cricket Ireland high performance director, said.

“The skill-set he offers provides cover across a number of areas within the squad, which is important as Ben Calitz is also carrying a knock to his hand after the last match.”

Vice-captain Lorcan Tucker will lead Ireland in their final two Group B games against Oman in Colombo tomorrow morning and Zimbabwe in Pallekele on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe’s shock victory over Australia earlier today keeps alive Ireland’s faint hope of reaching the last eight but the Boys in Green will have to win both their final games and massively improve their nett run-rate in doing so.