England captain puts national loyalties ahead of WPL side

NOT many cricketers would pick Dunedin over India. Heather Knight did.

The England captain withdrew from Women’s Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore in order to play against the White Ferns.

Bangalore — also featuring White Fern captain Sophie

Devine, who scored 32 runs in the final — won the WPL on Sunday after securing an eightwicket win over the Dehli Capitals.

Knight watched the highlights yesterday morning and was rapt for Bangalore’s win, especially after a tough season last year.

But playing in New Zealand was right for her.

‘‘I guess I could’ve been there, but I’m not really thinking about that,’’ Knight said.

‘‘The right thing for me, and the team, was for me to be here . . . so it was nice to watch from afar and really pleased for the girls out there and the coaching staff.’’

Asked if it was a hard decision to leave Bangalore, Knight said she was always going to come to New Zealand for the warmup games, and the series against the White Ferns, so it was an easy choice in the end.

‘‘I think, as captain, for me, I wanted to be here and wanted to be around the team for the buildup and those three games.

‘‘The ideal world would’ve been to leave the WPL a little bit early but that wasn’t an option to do so because of the rules about replacement players.

I wanted them to have someone available for the whole competition.’’

She acknowledged the choice between domestic and international competition was becoming more common in the women’s game and individuals needed to make the right choice for themselves.

While she wanted to play for her country, she also recognised the impact playing domestically could have on the international game.

‘‘I also think we’re also going to get a really good benefit as an England team hopefully from those girls playing in subcontinent conditions and really big games.’’