Aaron Finch, Kane Williamson and Nicholas Pooran withdraw from The Hundred, replacements confirmed

Less than three weeks out from the start of the competition, confirmation has landed that a host of high-profile overseas and domestic players are unavailable

The Hundred squads 2021: Full men's and women's player lists

The inaugural season of The Hundred has suffered further high-profile withdrawals from the men's competition less than three weeks before its scheduled start.

Thirteen players have pulled out of the 100-ball showcase ahead of the curtain coming up on July 22.

A combination of injuries, retirements, travel complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the rescheduling of international matches have led to the raft of alterations.

Birmingham Phoenix have been hit by four withdrawals, led by New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, Pakistan left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi and Australia spinner Adam Zampa.

Injured Warwickshire seamer Henry Brookes is also missing after being ruled out of the 2021 season with a quad problem.

Adam Milne, Imran Tahir, Finn Allen and Somerset's Will Smeed have been added as replacements.

Manchester Originals have lost Shadab Khan and Nicholas Pooran as well as the retired Harry Gurney and injured Derbyshire batter Wayne Madsen.

In their place comes Carlos Brathwaite, who has impressed for Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast, Colin Munro, Sam Hain and Sussex and England seamer Ollie Robinson.

Glenn Phillips has been in impressive form for Gloucestershire in the Blast

Northern Superchargers will be led by Faf du Plessis after he and Yorkshire's Jordan Thompson were confirmed to replace Aaron Finch and Olly Stone, who has suffered a recurrence of a back problem.

"It is a real honour to lead Northern Superchargers in their first season," said the South African. "Playing alongside the likes of Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid and Chris Lynn alongside a number of talented young players will be really exciting. I can’t wait to get going in a few weeks time."

Welsh Fire still have harbour hopes of Kieron Pollard being available but have signed Glenn Phillips until the West Indies allrounder arrives. Jimmy Neesham comes in for Jhye Richardson for the first three games of the competition.

Meanwhile, London Spirit have replaced Glenn Maxwell with Josh Inglis and Trent Rockets have got Wahab Riaz onboard instead of Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Both Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave are unchanged.

The changes come ahead of The Hundred wildcard draw with all eight men's teams able to add another player to their squad from the domestic circuit.

The men's tournament gets underway when Invincibles host Manchester Originals on July 22.

Men's squad changes

Birmingham Phoenix

In: Adam Milne, Imran Tahir, Finn Allen, Will Smeed

Out: Shaheen Afridi, Adam Zampa, Kane Williamson, Henry Brookes

London Spirit

In: Josh Inglis

Out: Glenn Maxwell

Manchester Originals

In: Carlos Brathwaite, Colin Munro, Ollie Robinson, Sam Hain

Out: Shadab Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Harry Gurney, Wayne Madsen

Northern Superchargers

In: Faf du Plessis, Jordan Thompson

Out: Aaron Finch, Olly Stone

Trent Rockets

In: Wahab Riaz

Out: Nathan Coulter-Nile

Welsh Fire

In: Jimmy Neesham (first three games), Glenn Phillips (until Kieron Pollard arrives)

Out: Jhye Richardson