England's Heather Knight withdraws from WPL 2024, RCB announce Nadine de Klerk as replacement

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 27 (ANI): English captain and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Heather Knight has withdrawn from the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 season.
The franchise named South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk as the replacement.
"England captain Heather Knight has pulled out of the upcoming season of the TATA Women's Premier League 2024. The Royal Challengers Bangalore have named Nadine de Klerk as her replacement," WPL said in a statement.
The South African all-rounder, who bowls medium-fast and bats right-handed, has featured in 30 ODIs and 46 T20Is for her country.
Knight becomes the second English player to withdraw from the event, following Lauren Bell, who left the UP Warriorz to focus on England's bilateral series with New Zealand. The series is anticipated to collide with the conclusion of the WPL season.
In 2023, Bell finished with 470 runs with a strike rate of 130.91. Her 15 sixes in the year is also a personal high in Women's T20Is.
The five-match T20I series between England and New Zealand will kick off on March 19 and will go on till March 29.
the action-packed WPL 2024 is all set to begin on February 23 with last year's champions Mumbai Indians taking on Delhi Capitals in the opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The summit clash will take place on March 17 in New Delhi while the eliminator will be played on March 15. The upcoming edition will be hosted by Delhi and Bengaluru. All matches will start at 7:30 pm.
This means that the England Women's Cricket Team might have to choose between country or franchise cricket, as the knockout rounds of the WPL clash with the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Seven English players Alice Capsey, Issy Wong, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt are due to take part in the WPL 2024. (ANI)