Rashid Khan pulls out of Men's Hundred on eve of tournament

The Hundred has lost its most high-profile male overseas player on the eve of the tournament, with Rashid Khan pulling out of a planned three-match stint with Trent Rockets.

Rashid has been playing for MI New York in Major League Cricket, taking 3 for 9 in the inaugural final against Seattle Orcas in Dallas on Sunday night, but has officially withdrawn due to an unspecified "injury".

He was due to play for Rockets on the Hundred's opening night against Southern Brave at Trent Bridge, playing three games before being replaced by New Zealand's Ish Sodhi. Imad Wasim, the Pakistan allrounder, will deputise for the first three games.

"I'm really disappointed to have to withdraw from The Hundred through injury," Rashid said. "It's been great to play in the competition the first two years, Trent Rockets is a great team, and I hope to be back again next year."

Rashid missed two ODIs for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka earlier this year with a back injury that he conceded was "still to be fully recovered" in a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo. He will instead have a brief opportunity to rest before playing a series against Pakistan heading into the Asia Cup and World Cup.

Rashid's 11th-hour withdrawal compounds the Hundred's existential crisis, casting further doubt on the competition's ability to attract the biggest names in world cricket. He was retained by Rockets on a top-bracket £125,000 contract and would have earned a pro-rata salary for his three appearances.

The Hundred's viability has been undermined by the inaugural season of MLC, where overseas players were paid up to $175,000 for a minimum of five matches across two-and-a-half weeks. While the competitions do not clash directly, most of the world's best T20 players have opted to play in the United States instead of England. Earlier this month, Surrey's Sunil Narine opted out of a proposed trans-Atlantic dash to take part in the Vitality Blast Finals Day, preferring instead to focus on his MLC contract with LA Knight Riders.

There has been speculation in the media throughout this year that the ECB - under new leadership, with Richard Gould and Richard Thompson joining as chief executive and chairman in the last 12 months - will scrap or significantly alter the Hundred after this season.

The ECB insist publicly that the competition will continue as planned, at least until the end of their existing broadcast deal with Sky Sports which runs up to the end of the 2028 season. But the dearth of star names involved this season will lead to further uncomfortable questions over the next month.

The tournament is due to run from August 1-27, and will be staged in a standalone window for the first time this summer, not clashing with any England men's or women's fixtures.

Several England men's players will rest after the conclusion of the Ashes, while Lauren Bell and Sophia Dunkley will both miss their teams' first two games as part of their workload management during a busy year.