The Hundred 2026: Ben Dwarshuis replaces injured Mustafizur Rahman for Birmingham Phoenix

Australian pacer Ben Dwarshuis has replaced the injured Mustafizur Rahman in the Birmingham Phoenix squad for The Hundred 2026. The Birmingham-based side play their opening game of the new season against the Trent Rockets on Friday, July 24 at their home ground. 

Rahman has been ruled out for at least four weeks after suffering from a grade 1 muscle tear in his knee. The left-arm pacer was poised to become the first Bangladeshi cricketer to feature in The Hundred after the Phoenix signed him for GBP 100,000. 

Dwarshuis, meanwhile, returns to the franchise for whom he played one match back in 2022. The 32-year-old was recently part of the Washington Freedom squad in Major League Cricket, where he took 16 wickets from eight matches.

A great lower-order batter, Dwarshuis struck at 202.70 in the six innings he batted in the recently concluded tournament, proving to be a handy player in a tournament that only features 100 balls per innings. 

"Ben is a fantastic addition to the squad and someone who brings proven quality, experience and versatility with the ball. He's shown his ability to perform in T20 competitions around the world, whether with the new ball or at the death, and we're looking forward to welcoming him to Birmingham Phoenix," Birmingham Phoenix head coach Shane Bond said, via the official website.

The Australian international last played in The Hundred in 2024, representing the Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds) in two matches and taking four wickets. He is currently only three matches short of 200 matches in the shortest format of the game. 

Dwarshuis now joins a side brimming with overseas stars, including Donovan Ferreira, Mitchell Owen and Usman Tariq. The former is named captain of the side after Jacob Bethell was also ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. The Phoenix announced Hampshire batter Joe Weatherley as a replacement for the left-handed batter after impressing in the 2026 T20 Blast.