WORCESTERSHIRE'S Twenty20 campaign has been dealt a blow by the news captain Vikram Solanki will miss up to three games after being called into the England one-day squad.

Solanki has joined England, who have two more matches in their series with former Worcestershire director of cricket Tom Moody's Sri Lanka. He will cover for batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, who both have fitness concerns.

County pace bowler Kabir Ali is already with the Eng-land party, but Steve Rhodes is remaining optimistic about his side's prospects in this year's Twenty20 Cup.

He said: "It is great news for Vikram and we are all pleased for him. Any player who gets the chance to represent their country should jump at it and it is good for the club that our players are being recognised internationally.

"However, Vikram is a dangerous batsman in all forms of the game and I could see him being extremely effective in Twenty20 cricket. But as one door closes for one player another door opens for someone else. Daryl Mitchell could well take advantage of this opportunity.

"Vikram and Kabir will be away for up to three Twenty20 games, but I am still confident. We are in good nick at the moment and are in the right frame of mind to go into a Twenty20 campaign."

Solanki has made 49 one-day appearances for England, scoring 1,043 runs at an average of 26.07. He has two centuries to his credit, 106 against South Africa at The Oval thr-ee years ago and 100 against Zimbabwe in 2004.

The 30-year-old played eight times in Pakistan and India over the winter with a highest score of 49 -- form which failed to get him into the original squad to face Sri Lanka.

The next game takes place at Old Trafford today with the tourists already holding a winning 3-0 lead in the best of five series.