MUMBAI: England captain Heather Knight has pulled out of the upcoming second season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024, which will be held in Bengaluru and Delhi from February 23 to March 17. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have named Nadine de Klerk as a replacement for Heather Knight, the WPL informed in a release on Saturday.

De Klerk, the South African all-rounder who bowls medium-fast and bats right-handed, has featured in 30 ODIs and 46 T20Is.

Heather Knight is the second England player to withdraw from the WPl in two days after pacer Lauren Bell did the same on Friday. Bell had withdrawn as she wanted to prepare for England women's upcoming tour of New Zealand.

Knight had represented RCB in the inaugural edition of the WPL and was one of the 11 players retained by the franchise ahead of the player auction for the second edition of the WPL.