Lee was ruled out of the squad after complaining of soreness in his right elbow during Australia’s first warm-up game against Zimbabwe in St Lucia.

Australia’s National Selection Panel, on Wednesday, announced Queenslander Harris’ name following confirmation from the ICC’s event technical committee.

“While obviously disappointing for Brett, this gives Ryan Harris a wonderful opportunity to join the Australian squad in the West Indies for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament,” NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said. “Ryan was very close to selection in the initial 15-man squad. He has been in excellent form for Australia in one-day and Test formats and during his recent stint at the IPL.”

“We believe he is the ideal replacement for Brett, being a right-arm swing bowler with a good ability to bowl at the death of an innings. His ability with the bat and in the field also adds extra versatility to our squad,” he added.

However, it was another disappointment for the injury prone speedster Brett Lee, who hurt his forearm muscles near the elbow and would need special treatment.

“During yesterday’s game against Zimbabwe, Brett developed increasing right elbow pain and by the time he completed his final over, the pain was significant,” Australian physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. “At the conclusion of the innings, it was obvious Brett had sustained an injury to one of the forearm muscles near the elbow and this was confirmed by a subsequent MRI scan.”

“Due to the condensed nature of this tournament, Brett will not recover in time to take any further part and has therefore been withdrawn from the squad. This is not a recurrence of the elbow injury that recently required surgery but a new injury that will require specialist opinion upon his return to Australia,” he added.

Lee suffered the injury during Australia’s warm-up match against Zimbabwe, which they lost by one run, and the team has already asked for a replacement, with Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris being the frontrunners to replace Lee.

The injury comes as a major blow for Lee, who has not played for his country since October last year and was making his return from an elbow surgery. Lee felt pain after taking 1 for 13 in four overs and later had MRI scans, and a team spokesman said the strain was unrelated to his elbow trouble.

“It’s a muscle strain,” the team spokesman told AAP. “We have gone to the ICC Technical Committee to ask for a replacement player.”

The latest injury has raised further doubts about Lee’s future for Australia. Lee, 33, had retired from Tests in February this year but wanted to remain a key Twenty20 and one-day player. A broken thumb curtailed his IPL season and although he retained his Cricket Australia contract, his ongoing injury worries must be a concern for the team management.

Australia is scheduled to play their second warm-up game against the Windward Islands on Thursday before their opening match of the tournament against Pakistan on Sunday.

“It’s unfortunate that Brett Lee had to leave for Australia, he had to fly back with a fractured thumb,” Kings XI Punjab skipper, Kumar Sangakkara, told reporters. “Adrian Barath too has some stomach problem but still we have good bench strength and will take a call on the final eleven after looking at the strength and weaknesses of the opposition.”

“We will miss Brett, hope he gets well soon and becomes fit ahead of the World Cup,” he added.

Kings XI Punjab are scheduled to play their next match on Friday against the defending champions, Deccan Chargers, at Dharamsala, which is one of the new venues for this season of the Indian Premier League.

Lee, 33, has already retired from test cricket in a bid to prolong his T20 and ODI career and his coming back to fitness would be a huge boost to the Australian team. Lee will join teammates Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson, in what now looks like a very formidable fast bowling attack.

Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said that he was hoping that Lee would regain match fitness by playing with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. “At his best, he is one of the best Twenty20 cricketers in the world,” Hilditch said. “He also has the opportunity of continuing to play in the IPL as preparation for this tournament.”

Ryan Harris, who made his Test debut in New Zealand and has been performing consistently well for Australia in the last couple of series, was “extremely unlucky” to miss the 15-man squad while all-rounder Daniel Christian held his spot in the team. “Dan Christian had limited opportunities in the lead-up to this selection but we see him as an exciting Twenty20 cricketer with his all-round skills with bat and ball,” Hilditch said. “We’ve also added Tim Paine to give us cover in case of injury to Brad Haddin and, of course, Tim’s ability with the bat more than warrants his selection.”

Australia would be looking to finish at the top of their group to avoid going out in the first round for the second tournament in a row. Their opening game is against Pakistan on May 2 in St Lucia before facing Bangladesh on May 5 in Barbados.

Australia men’s squad: David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Dirk Nannes, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Shaun Tait.

Australia women’s squad: Jodie Fields (capt, wk), Alex Blackwell, Jessica Cameron, Sarah Elliott, Rene Farrell, Rachael Haynes, Julie Hunter, Shelley Nitschke, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Leah Poulton, Lisa Sthalekar, Clea Smith, Elyse Villani.

Lee, who plays for the Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, did not play any game in this year’s tournament. The fast bowler was operated a couple of months ago for his elbow problem.

Lee’s agent Neil Maxwell said the bowler would rather be at home for treatment than in India, owing to security fears. “From a security point of view, he’d prefer to be spending the time waiting in Sydney rather than Chandigarh,” Lee’s manager Neil Maxwell told The Age.

However, Kings XI Punjab CEO, Anil Srivats, insisted that Lee’s decision to return had “nothing to do with security”.

“There is enough precedence to know that this (kind of) stuff can always be cooked up,” he said.

Lee, who has been recovering from an elbow injury, has not played any match for his IPL franchise, Kings XI Punjab, this year and will not do so until after he gains more treatment on the elbow problem that sidelined him during the Australian summer, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Lee, 33, has already retired from Test cricket but hopes to be part of Australia’s squad for the world Twenty20 championships in the Caribbean, which is scheduled to start next month.

The veteran fast bowler was last month included in Australia’s preliminary squad of 30, which will be pruned to 15 in the lead-up to the tournament.

“There are many things I want to achieve in the shorter form of the game. One, the Twenty20 world cup for Australia and two, the 50-over World Cup for Australia in India. I want to be a part of that,” Lee said.

“I’ve been working very, very closely with Patrick Farhart. He’s been my physio for 16 years and he’s happy with the way it’s progressing. I’m looking to be up to full pace within a couple of weeks,” Lee told The Sydney Morning Herald.

The 33-year-old paceman said his Test retirement will let him spend time with his young son Preston Charles Lee. “It was a lifestyle choice through having a young son. I don’t want to be away 11 months of the year,” he said.

Lee, who plays for Kings XI Punjab, is not sure whether he would be able to bowl as fast as he did before injury but is confident of making a good comeback to cricket.

“Unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you look at it, I’ve had a few operations now, so I really know what you’ve got to do after it. If it was the first one, then I’d be a little bit nervous but I’ve been through it before so I know what I have to do,” Lee said. “It doesn’t make it [physically] any easier but it just makes the mental side of things a little bit more relaxed.”

Lee, who was named in the preliminary 30-man Australian squad for the World Twenty20 Championship in the West Indies, said he would withdraw from the international tournament if his body or performance were not up to mark in the IPL.

“You should be bowling well and bowling fast. If I can’t get back and bowl the way I want to, whether it’s through [bowling with] pace or through pain, I won’t play. But I don’t think that will be the case, I’m confident my body will stand up to it,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to prove, I’m not out there to prove that I’m bigger and better than ever. I’m just going to keep trying to bowl quick and if I can do the business on the field and still enjoy my cricket that will make me very proud.”

Lee, who quit Tests to prolong his ODI and Twenty20 career, is currently nursing an elbow injury. The squad would be pruned further as the World Cup draws closer. The squad doesn’t offer any surprises and features players who have been part of the squad for quite some time now.

“The NSP has on Friday announced Australia’s preliminary 30-player squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean which will be reduced closer to the event,” Cricket Australia’s National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said.

“The Australian Twenty20 team has played well in recent times with a solid win against reigning champions Pakistan and also against the West Indies at home this summer. The squad also has two matches against New Zealand over the coming days and the NSP will be watching performances closely,” he added.

Hilditch said the final squad would be a mix of youth and experience. “We expect the squad to contain a good blend of youth and experience with several players who have excelled in Twenty20 cricket both internationally and domestically this year,” he said. “From this 30 we hope to pick a final World Twenty20 squad that if plays to its ability will be a very exciting, entertaining and extremely competitive team in the Caribbean.”

Australia also announced its women’s team for the event.

The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 will be held in the Caribbean commencing on April 30 with the final on May 16.

The Australian men’s team is in Group A alongside Pakistan and Bangladesh and opens its campaign against Pakistan on May 2 before playing Bangladesh on May 5.

Squad: George Bailey, Travis Birt, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Daniel Christian, Michael Clarke, Ben Cutting, Xavier Doherty, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Moises Henriques, Brad Hodge, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew McDonald, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White

“This is not the end of me. It’s a cricket choice and it’s a lifestyle choice,” said the 33-year-old fast bowler.

“To me, Test cricket is my favourite part of the game, wearing the baggy green cap,” he told Sky News. “But if I’m going to keep playing cricket for another few years, something had to give.”

Lee, considered one of the fastest bowlers ever in the history of the game, took 316 wickets in 76 test matches since making his debut in 1999 against India, making him Australia’s fourth most successful test bowler behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee.

Lee said his best memory was his first Test wicket, which came when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh in his opening over on debut at the MCG in 1999-2000. “At that point I could’ve hung up the boots just then,” he said.

The speedster hasn’t played a Test match since December 2008, when he suffered severe foot injury during the Boxing Day match against South Africa in Melbourne. And after dealing with long-term foot, ankle, side and elbow injuries over the past 15 months he knows his body can’t take the strain. Despite his decision to focus on the one-day and Twenty20 formats, Lee does not want younger fast men to give up on Tests.

“Obviously, there’s specialist one-day and Twenty20 bowlers,” he said at the SCG. “But for me, Test cricket is where it’s at. There’s a lot of luck in Twenty 20, a lot of skill and a bit of luck in one-dayers. But Test cricket is a test for the bowlers and a test for the batsmen.”

There were reports earlier that Lee was contemplating retirement and that he had finally decided to quit after talking to England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who retired from the five-day format last year. New Zealand’s Jacob Oram has also walked away from Tests to focus on one-dayers and Twenty20s.

“This hasn’t happened overnight. This has been a long process,” Lee said. “I’ve had the time to step away from cricket and what I want to achieve. It’s been about a three- to four-month decision that I’ve made and finally I went with it.”

Standing at well over six feet, Lee’s intimidating physique and pace made him a threat for any batsmen as he formed one of the best bowling attacks ever alongside Warne and McGrath in Australia’s all-conquering side of the 2000s, when they dominated Test cricket.

Wisden magazine’s 2006 Cricketer of the Year lays claim to cricket’s second quickest recorded delivery when he bowled at 99.9 miles (160.8 kilometres) per hour in 2003, a speed bettered only by Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar.

Lee, who is scheduled to play for the Kings XI Punjab in next month’s Indian Premier League, said that like other Australian players, he was awaiting security clearance to play in this year’s IPL after a reported threat from an al-Qaeda-linked militant. “As far as going to India, it’s just waiting and seeing,” he said. “We’re not in a rushed situation to make a call. We (players) are not experts in that field.”

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland congratulated Lee on a “fantastic” career and said he hoped to see him return for Australia’s one-day and Twenty20 teams.

“I remember seeing him debut at the MCG against India in the Boxing Day Test back in 1999,” Sutherland said. “He bowled a very quick spell that had the Indian batsmen ducking for cover and straight away I think we all knew then that we were watching the birth of a great fast bowler.”

Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting, said that Lee should be remembered as one of the game’s greats.

“If we all just take a minute and think about what he’s put himself through in that 10 or 12 years,” he said. “Running 35 metres to bowl every ball, bowling every ball at close to 150kph, and putting his heart on the line every ball he bowls, this bloke deserves a massive pat on the back.”

Lee, who averaged 30.82 runs per wicket and has 10 five-wicket hauls, is currently 22nd on the all-time international Test bowlers’ list.

But his fans would most remember him in his batting helmet and pads, when he was consoled by Flintoff after Australia fell agonisingly short of a win in the 2005 Ashes series, which England went on to win.

Talking to The Sunday Telegraph, Lee said he would consult Test captain Ricky Ponting before deciding whether to give it one more shot or pull the plug on his 13-year career. Lee’s hopes of a Test recall suffered a major jolt on Friday when Australia coach Tim Nielsen revealed the 33-year-old would find it difficult to make it to the longer version of the game again.

Lee said that he is working hard on his rehabilitation from the elbow surgery but admits there is no guarantee he will be seen in Australian colours again. “As far as my cricket goes, anything is possible. You can read into it what you want, but I may play one-dayers, or no cricket at all,” said Lee, who has taken 310 Test wickets and 324 one-day scalps.

“I may never bowl another ball again, and if that’s the case I’m so satisfied with my career and my longevity. I’m not saying it’s definitely over, but I’m not sure what I want to be just yet. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what I still want to do at this point in my cricketing life. I need to get to the stage where, if I want to, I can do what I need to do on the field,” he added. “If it’s the case that I don’t play again, well that’s the case. There is a part of me that would like to play some sort of cricket again. But what kind of cricket that is, I don’t know.”

Lee, who has appeared in 76 tests for Australia, has had 12 injuries throughout his 13-year long first-class career, including back, ankle, rib and elbow problems. But he says he has never encountered an injury like his recent elbow complaint. “I’m making a lifestyle decision here as opposed to a cricketing one and I’ll see what comes out of it,” he said.