Kane Williamson, Shaheen Afridi latest to withdraw from The Hundred

England's inaugural 100-ball competition, the Hundred 2021, suffered another major blow before even starting as Kane Williamson and Shaheen Shah Afridi became the latest to pull out of the tournament on Thursday.

Williamson withdrew from his £80,000 (INR 82.3 lakhs) contract at Birmingham Phoenix, citing an elbow injury.

The New Zealand captain has been managing his left elbow since early this year, and it also ruled him out of the second Test against England before the World Test Championship final. However, he is still in the UK and is likely to be with Phoenix in a mentoring capacity.

The Edgbaston-based franchise has lined up Finn Allen, Williamson's compatriot, as a replacement.

Allen, who was also signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021, is currently the second-highest run-scorer for Lancashire in the T20 Blast and will stay back after the tournament to participate in the Hundred.

Pakistani left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has also withdrawn from his Phoenix contract due to international commitments.

Pakistan will tour the Caribbean for a couple of limited-overs rubbers from July 27 to August 20, which falls directly under the window of the Hundred.

The latest on Hundred player movements with @GeorgeDobell1Williamson, Shaheen Afridi, Jhye Richardson, Coulter-Nile outFinn Allen, Lungi Ngidi/Jimmy Neesham, Wahab Riaz all inWildcard draft for unsigned domestic players takes place tomorrowhttps://t.co/jLNrC7g0cu

— Matt Roller (@mroller98) July 1, 2021

Phoenix is yet to announce Afridi's replacement even as its last overseas player, Adam Zampa, is all but certain to withdraw as well. Zampa is part of the Australia squad, which will tour the West Indies and Bangladesh in July-August.

Williamson and Afridi's withdrawal from the Hundred is only the latest in a series of high-profile pull-outs in the past month, including from players like David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and Kagiso Rabada.

Lungi Ngidi, Wahab Riaz join the Hundred

Happy birthday to @TheRealPCB quick Wahab Riaz 🎂Who could ever forget his fiery spell against @CricketAus at the 2015 @CricketWorldCup and his famous battle with @ShaneRWatson33 ☄️ pic.twitter.com/3yw3bCrolp

— ICC (@ICC) June 28, 2021

In a related development, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi and Pakistan veteran Wahab Riaz are set to join Welsh Fire and Trent Rockets.

Ngidi is expected to play five matches after the Proteas' limited-overs tour of Ireland as a replacement for Jhye Richardson, while Riaz will replace Australia's Nathan Coulter-Nile.

The Hundred will host a wildcard draft on Friday, where each of the men's teams will pick one unsigned domestic player on the back of their performances in the T20 Blast.