England captain Heather Knight has withdrawn from the Women’s Premier League to focus on the tour of New Zealand in March.
Knight was due to represent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the second edition of the T20 tournament, which takes place in India between 23 February and 17 March.
England’s white-ball tour of New Zealand starts on 19 March.
South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk replaces Knight in the RCB squad.
Writing on X, Knight said she was “sad” to be withdrawing from the WPL but added it was the “right thing” for her to be available for the whole England tour.
Seam bowler Lauren Bell withdrew from the UP Warriorz squad this week to focus on the England tour, with Sri Lanka all-rounder Chamari Athapaththu her replacement.
England head coach Jon Lewis is also in charge of UP Warriorz and his schedule, and how he plans to combine the two, is still unknown.
All-rounders Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey, seamers Kate Cross and Issy Wong, left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone and batter Danni Wyatt are still due to feature in this year’s WPL before joining England.
England will play five T20s and three one-day internationals against the White Ferns between 19 March and 7 April.
