'I look foolish' - Nayar admits batting shuffle misfire in UP Warriorz's second loss

Abhishek Nayar attributed UP Warriorz's (UPW) batting-order shuffle to opposition-based tactics and admitted that the decision to send Harleen Deol to open the batting against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was a wrong one, taking full responsibility for it. Kiran Navgire, who had opened in their opening game, was pushed down to No. 4.

"We felt that with the moving ball at that point, Harleen could add a bit of value in the powerplay," Nayar said after UPW lost their second successive match in WPL 2026. "She's obviously technically correct. It didn't work out today. I felt it turned out to be the wrong decision. I take complete responsibility for it. But I think the thought process behind it was having some solidity up top and then hopefully having that power later on as the pitch gets better, because we anticipated a bit of swing initially. I thought those match-ups for Kiran Navgire in the middle would work. [But they] didn't work today. So I look foolish."

Navgire fell for 1 off 4 balls in UPW's 208-run chase against Gujarat Giants, while Deol registered a two-ball duck. However, Phoebe Litchfield's 78, followed by lower-order cameos, helped UPW get close as they lost by just ten runs. One of those cameos came from Shweta Sehrawat, who scored a 17-ball 25 with three sixes and a four. Batting at No. 6, she hit the first ball she faced - from Renuka Singh - for a six over extra cover.

To prepare for this role with UPW, Sehrawat, a natural top-order batter, batted in the middle order in domestic cricket. She struck at 144.57 in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy and 157.89 in the Women's Under-23 T20 Trophy. After joining the UPW camp, she was also handed an additional role - wicketkeeping.

"For her career, I think it's a great step moving forward," Nayar said. "Giving her the gloves, in my head, was a KL Rahul sort of move, where it brightens her chances of making it to the India squad, especially seeing that there aren't a lot of options. She's a tremendous batter with a lot of capability, power and flair. She has been working on a couple of shots, and we've seen that in practice matches and during her preparation. But it was good to see a sample size of it in a game. I have a lot more expectations from her through the season because I truly believe she has the potential to don the India colours and do exceedingly well.

"In 15 days of practice, she has been keeping to Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma and Asha [Sobhana]. So with a little more keeping under her belt, I really feel she can be a great prospect for the Indian women's team."

Against RCB, Deol couldn't put away Lauren Bell, facing nine dot balls during her 14-ball stay before miscuing a shot to mid-off. Navgire, meanwhile, made 5 off 3 balls before holing out to deep midwicket. Her dismissal was part of a collapse in which UPW lost four wickets for 11 runs to slip to 50 for 5. Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin then batted through the remainder of the innings to take the team to 143 for 5.

"In today's game, you can't talk too much about the batting order because we lost wickets in heaps," Nayar said. "In our mind, it was quite simple. Everyone had their roles clear. But when you lose so many wickets, what role? You just have to go out and play.

"For me, in T20 cricket, the numbers after your top three don't really matter. The top three today was a call based on the opposition. Although I believe in having players play set roles, I also felt that today it didn't work out. But that doesn't mean Harleen can't do it, or that Kiran can't do it. It just didn't work out today. If she had scored 100, we'd be having a different conversation."