3 players Harry Brook could replace in England's 2023 World Cup squad ft. Dawid Malan

There has been a lot of talk around Harry Brook's non-selection in England's World Cup 2023 squad and perhaps rightly so, given the red-hot form that the young batter has been in.

After a stunning century in The Hundred, Harry Brook produced excellent cameos of 43(27) and 67(36) in the first two T20Is against New Zealand. Former cricketers like Kevin Pietersen are convinced that the youngster will finally be picked in the 15-man World Cup squad.

While captain Jos Buttler did not give anything away about Harry Brook's snub, head coach Matthew Mott has hinted that the young batter has done what he should, which is score runs. He still feels Brook isn't completely out of the equation with still enough time for making changes in the squad.

Here's what Mott was quoted as saying about Harry Brook to The Guardian:

"I believe he is going to be one of the best players in his generation. What you want to see from players when they miss out on a squad is you want them to come out and slam that door down. I thought at the start of this series, and with his hundred in the Hundred, he made a real statement. It is still open for debate and there will be plenty of cricket played in the next month, so we’ll see what that squad ends up looking like."

On that note, let's take a look at three players that Brook could potentially replace from England's World Cup squad:

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#3 Dawid Malan

Dawid Malan had a flying start to his white-ball career, quickly becoming a crucial performer for England in the T20Is and also winning the T20 World Cup last year. His numbers in ODIs are great too, having scored 769 runs in 18 games at an average of 54.92 with as many as four ODI hundreds.

However, the return of Ben Stokes and the presence of Joe Root in the top order has raised some questions on whether England need a player like Harry Brook more than Dawid Malan. His recent form hasn't been great as well, having been dropped from the Trent Rockets team after just 28 runs in four innings in The Hundred.

While Malan has scored a half-century in the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, it might be tempting for the selectors to get Brook in his place, especially after comparing their current form.

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#2 David Willey

All-rounder David Willey had to go through a tough time back in 2019 when Jofra Archer replaced him at the eleventh hour in the World Cup squad. While he has been named in the provisional squad for the showpiece event this year, it could be a case of deja vu for him.

In Indian conditions, one can argue that England have one too many pace options. While the likes of Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood provide the extra pace, England seem to have their seam bowling covered with the likes of Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Reece Topley. It could probably come down to Willey if the team management decides to bring Harry Brook into the squad.

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#1 Jason Roy

Jason Roy is arguably a name that could raise a few eyebrows, as him and Jonny Bairstow were one of the main reasons why England won the previous ODI World Cup. Dominant at the top of the order, it was almost unimaginable to see Roy getting dropped from the team.

However, it is once again the case of the current form with Roy. While his average has been 46.33 in the six innings that he has played this season with two hundreds, the other four outings were absolutely disappointing.

While the opposition teams might fancy not facing the duo of Roy and Bairstow at the top of the order, the selectors have a decision to make if they feel they need all the medium-pace options that they have named. It could be a decision that leads to a lot of scrutiny, but that's the price they may have to pay to bring Harry Brook into the scheme of things.