World Cup: Which last minute replacement will do the most?

Six players, Hasan Ali, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harry Brook, Marnus Labuschagne, Mohammad Mahmudullah and Andile Phehlukwayo parachuted into the 2023 ODI World Cup as last minute replacements. Of these six, who is most likely to have an impact on the tournament?

cricket world cup 2023 - which late minute replacement will do the most

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin refused to let go of a dream. Most 37-year-olds cut their losses and move on if they are frozen out of the ODI squad for a year. Ashwin was out of the Indian squad for 18 months. Instead of accepting his fate, Ashwin put in marathon shifts at the national academy, played in local games in Tamil Nadu and stayed out under the lights for extra batting practice.

Ashwin will hope that the hard yards will turn him into a better ODI bowler than he was before. His numbers do not look good, he has taken 155 wickets in 113 innings, at an underwhelming average of 33.20. His strike rate of 40.28 is the third-worst when compared to the top 20 bowlers active from his debut in 2010.

Ashwin has home conditions and experience in his favour and is the one most likely to perform well. The real key for him is forcing his way in past a top bowling line up.

Hasan Ali

Hasan Ali carried Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy campaign on his shoulders. He took the most wickets and had the best average and economy compared to the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament. Amazingly, six years later, aged only 29, he found himself on the fringes of the Pakistan national team. He was so low on the pecking order it took the injuries of three players, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Ihsanullah, for him to be considered.

Ali had a terrible 2019 ODI World Cup campaign. In four matches, he bagged two wickets at an average of 128. The hope will be that the skills he has developed on the T20 circuit improved his bowling. Pakistan desperately needs someone who can take control of the middle overs with the ball. If he can rediscover his 2017 shine, Hasan Ali can do anything.

Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne is making a career out of coming in as a concussion sub and laying claim to positions. In 2019, he became the first concussion sub in Test history when he replaced Steve Smith during the Lord’s Test of the 2019 Ashes series; no one has been able to displace him from the Test side since.

In 2023, he was brought on as a concussion substitute for Cameron Green in Bloemfontein, South Africa. As he did when he was brought in as Smith’s sub, he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He scored an unbeaten 80 to steer Australia to victory. In the next match, Labuschagne scored an impressive 124.

Before Australia toured South Africa, Labuschagne had been dropped from Australia’s ODI squad because of a poor strike rate. During Australia’s three-match series in India in March, Labuschagne scored at a pedestrian strike rate of 64.2, had a dot ball percentage of 53.7 and faced an average of 22.3 balls per boundary scored. In South Africa, he played with more intent. His strike rate rose to 100 and his dot ball percentage and balls per boundary dropped to 40.6 and 8.6 respectively.

As Australia’s new number four batter, the new and improved Labuschagne is likely to have a lot to say during the tournament.

Harry Brook

In December 2022, Mark Butcher declared that Harry Brook had a touch of genius. His barnstorming performances in Test and T20Is made it difficult to imagine Brook not being a part of England’s ODI squad. Then Ben Stokes unretired on the eve of the ODI World Cup and Brook was dropped. The 23-year-old reacted with back-to-back explosive performances against New Zealand in a T20I series.

Before the opening match of the World Cup, Brook had scored 123 runs in six ODIs at an average of 20.50. In his first World Cup match, he managed 25 runs off 16 balls, which nudged his average to 21.14. His numbers are far from inspiring, but it’s still early days.

Ben Stokes’ trouble with his knees might mean that Brook will be required to take to the field more often. And unless he improves on his strike rotation, he might not make the impact England hope.

Mahmudullah

Only three Bangladeshi players have scored centuries at an ODI World Cup, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah. Mushfiqur has one and Shakib and Mahmudullah have two each. Mahmudullah holds the record for the highest individual score with his unbeaten 128 against New Zealand in 2015. Mahmudullah is also one of four Bangladesh batters with a Champions Trophy century to their name.

Given Bangladesh’s top-order struggles, the middle order might find themselves having to perform rescue jobs more often than not. And who better to take on that job besides the experienced Mahmudullah in Indian conditions?

Andile Phehlukwayo

When Andile Phehlukwayo came to the attention of South African selectors, they were confident they had come across the perfect number seven. His mastery of the slower balls and a couple of other variations made him a threat and his ability his clean striking made him a threat with the bat. The fact that Lance Klusener was his mentor was a bonus.

Then one day he woke up and he was a below-average player. He was no longer as good and he was conceding a lot of extras. His batting went to the dogs. Between June 2019 and October 2022, Phehlukwayo’s career batting average plummeted from 32 to 23. It wasn’t long before he lost his national contract. He went back to the drawing board, and almost 10 months after he last played for South Africa, he forced his way into South Africa’s World Cup squad.

There is little chance he will play for South Africa. He is in the squad as cover for the bowlers.