Body blow to UP Warriorz' playoff hopes as star batter ruled out of WPL, 32-year-old named as replacement

UP Warriorz (UPW) have suffered a major blow into the business end of Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 as batter Phoebe Litchfield has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. The franchise have also announced England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones as the replacement for Litchfield, who has sustained a quad injury and has returned home in order to rehab ahead of Australia's three-match T20I series against India that will begin from February 15.

The Australia batter is UPW's leading run-scorer of the ongoing WPL season with 243 runs from six games so it definitely is a massive setback for the team to see her get ruled out. They will be without Litchfield for their remaining two games of the league stage that will be against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals on January 29 and February 1 respectively.

Jones' numbers in the shortest format

On the other hand, Jones has joined UPW for the price of INR 50 lakh. She is quite experienced when it comes to T20Is and has played 125 matches for England, scoring a total of 1666 runs including five half-centuries. She can go on to play an important role for the team with the bat in their remaining two games.

UPW on the points table

UPW currently sit at the bottom of the standings with four points from six games. They have been able to record just two victories in the season so far and have lost on four occasions. They can stil make it to the playoffs, but will need to win their remaining two games and will have to rely on other results as well.

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Their upcoming clash against RCB is nothing short of crucial as a defeat there will end their playoff hopes. With the Bengaluru-based franchise being at the top of the standings and having already qualified for the playoffs, they will come into the match as favourites.