Abhishek Nayar stands by retired-out call as Harleen Deol breaks silence after redemption knock: 'Yesterday gave me confidence'

On 14 January, Harlen Deol was retired out by UP Warriorz in the game against Delhi Capitals. Deol was on 47 from 36 balls with a strike rate of 130.56, but coach Abhishek Nayar felt something more was needed. So she was asked to come back to the dugout.

Retiring out can be a big blow for a cricketer as it is still not a regular practice in top-level cricket, but 27-year-old Harleen Deol did not let it impact her batting, bouncing back on the very next day. On Thursday (15 January), Deol smashed a match-winning 64 runs off 39 balls at a strike rate of 164.10 to guide UP Warriorz to their first win in WPL 2026 - a crucial seven-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians.

Harleen Deol scripts incredible comeback within 24 hours

After a flashy knock, Harleen Deol delivered a measured interview in the post-match presentation as she reflected on her redemption inside 24 hours of being retired.

“Nothing different [about my approach],” Harleen said. “I just got a few boundary balls, so I could convert it into boundaries. Sometimes it’s just your day - that wherever you are thinking to hit, the ball comes there. It was that for me.”

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While she was in disbelief when Nayar asked her to walk back against DC, Deol added that her knock against the Capitals provided her with the required belief.

“Yesterday also I was batting well but as you saw today, how Chloe [Tryon] can change the scenario,” Harleen said. “For me, I just took it that way: Chloe is someone who can hit big. [Yesterday, that decision] probably didn’t go our way. There’s no point just keep stressing on that thing.

“Honestly, yesterday gave me a lot of confidence in fact because the first two games didn’t go my way. I went on and figured out a few things, I was just trying to overhit, this wicket is not the kind that would reward overhitting, scoring requires more timing.”

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Abhishek Nayar defends decision to retire out Harleen Deol

UP Warriorz coach Nayar justified the decision to retire Harleen Deol by saying that it was part of the team’s plans and not a spontaneous call.

“It wasn’t like a very spontaneous decision,” Nayar said. “The conversation started around the 12th over, when we first sent a message to Meg [Lanning] while they were batting together, and we felt what was the right time to get our power hitters in, that was a thought process. Post the timeout, Meg and Harleen decided to have a go. At that point, we had already communicated to Harleen that if we don’t get going till the 16th or 17th over, we will look for a change.

“That communication had started way before [we asked her to retire out]. I know from the outside it feels like, oh damn, what happened. But we started that [conversation] around the 12th over. When it reached the 17th over, we just felt we have the power, so we wanted to make sure we gave them the opportunity in the game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

“In hindsight, the whole team felt like that was the right decision. So there wasn’t much of a conversation post that because the buildup was already there. She knew what the team was doing, Post that, there was nothing actually. Because there was nothing wrong or there was nothing that she didn’t expect was going to happen. She was told about that being a possibility if we get there.”

Warriorz would be back in action on Saturday against the Mumbai Indians in their reverse match.