England’s Heather Knight has pulled out of the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 after having to make a choice between franchise and international cricket. Knight was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after joining the team last season.
As per a report on ESPNcricinfo, the England and Wales (ECB) said that players taking part in the WPL would not be eligible for selection for the first three T20Is against New Zealand.
Even as the WPL is scheduled to end on March 17, England’s first T20I against the White Ferns is on March 19 at the University Oval in Dunedin. Earlier, Lauren Bell of the UP Warriorz also withdrew from the WPL, after which Chamari Athapaththu, who went unsold, was picked.
Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals), Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong (Mumbai Indians), Danni Wyatt and Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz) and Kate Cross (Royal Challengers Bangalore) are the other English cricketers set to take part in the WPL. For now, there is no update on their participation in the T20 league.
Who is Nadine de Klerk?
RCB, in the meantime, have roped in South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk as a replacement for Knight. The 24-year-old Klerk went into the auction at a base price of INR 30 lakhs, but could not find a buyer. She will now play alongside the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry and other big names.
In 46 WT20Is thus far, Klerk has scored 419 runs at an average of 26.18 and a strike-rate of 98.35. Her top score of 37 not out came against Pakistan Women back in May 2019 at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni.
Klerk has also been effective with the ball, having taken 35 wickets in WT20Is at an economy rate of 7.19. She got her best figures of 4-0-7-3 against Sri Lanka back in August 2022 in the Commonwealth Games match at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
RCB failed to make their way through to the playoffs last time around after also losing 5 matches in a row. In the auction for the 2024 edition, they brought in Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, S Meghana, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux, Ekta Bisht and Shubha Satheesh.
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