From retired out to match-winner: Deol flips the script in 24 hours

What a lot of difference 24 hours can make. Ask Harleen Deol. In the space of a day, she went from being the centre of a hotly debated tactical decision to anchoring a successful chase with a match-winning half-century in WPL 2026.

A day after she was retired out on 47, she found herself in a somewhat familiar setting, but with a very different outcome. Against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday, Deol entered in the seventh over, this time in a chase, after Kiran Navgire fell with UP Warriorz (UPW) needing 117 from 79 balls. Deol showed intent immediately, opening her account with a boundary and then striking three more fours in the next five balls she faced, prompting the cameras to turn to head coach Abhishek Nayar in the dugout.

Deol moved to 40 off 23 by the end of the 13th over, and briefly there was a sense of deja vu when offspinner Sanskriti Gupta bowled a tight over that went for just five. This time, Deol did not let the pressure build. Even after Phoebe Litchfield fell for a 22-ball 25, she was calm, taking three boundaries off Sanskriti in her next over and also bringing up her half-century in the process. Deol and Chloe Tryon, who rushed UPW home with an unbeaten 27 off 11 balls, eventually sealed their first win of the season.

Just over 24 hours earlier against Delhi Capitals (DC), Deol had walked out in the seventh over. After scoring 28 off her first 18 balls, the tempo dropped once Shafali Verma came onto bowl, with Deol managing only 19 runs from the next 18 balls. With the innings losing momentum, UPW made the call to retire her out in the 15th over as Nayar stepped out of the dugout and signalled for her return. Deol paused mid-pitch, looking towards the dugout, seemingly confused, and then walked back slowly. It was a moment that surprised many, including MI and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

After being named Player of the Match for her unbeaten 64 off 39 balls against MI, Deol said she did not want to dwell on the retired-out decision.

"Actually, yesterday also I was batting well but as you saw today, how Chloe can change the scenario," Deol said at the post-match presentation. "So I just took it in that way. Probably, that didn't go our way, that is the only thing which happened. I was batting well yesterday also, there is no point [to] just keep stressing on that thing."

The possibility of a retired-out call happening had been discussed internally before it happened - even if it appeared abrupt from the outside - Nayar said. What added to it was UPW's collapse from there as they lost four wickets for 11 runs.

"I was just trying to overhit a few things. Now, this wicket is not something, [on] which, for me as a batter, to just keep overhitting. [It was] just more on timing-based things"Harleen Deol

"It wasn't like a very spontaneous decision," Nayar said after UPW's win against MI. "The conversation started around the 12th over, when we first sent a message to Meg [Lanning] while they were batting together. I think post the time out in the 14th over, Meg decided to have a word with Harleen as well. At that point of time, we had already communicated to Harleen that if we don't get going in the 16th or 17th over, we will look for a change.

"I know from the outside it feels like, 'oh damn, what happened', but when we reached the 17th over, we just felt we have the power, 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."

Nayar added that the focus afterwards was ensuring Deol was fine. "She is a team player, she always thinks team first, Harleen second. So the conversations post that [incident] were more about how we can make a difference today. But it wasn't a very tough conversation, so it was more about making sure she's okay, and the stigma around [retired out].

"When people talk about it, and say, 'oh, this has happened' without knowing what's happening. I think not only me, but a couple of the coaches and owners had conversations, but she was okay. I remember just after walking in, the first thing she said was, 'sir, we can win this game'. It becomes very easy when you have a player who doesn't think 'me' and thinks team."

Against MI, Deol was fluent on the off side and punished width. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelie Kerr erred outside off early, allowing Deol to settle quickly with cuts and drives. When Kerr strayed onto her pads, Deol was quick to wait on the ball and swivel into a pull through backward square leg.

Shabnim Ismail went fuller, but the result was the same: square drives and controlled pushes that kept the chase on track without much risk. When the spinners tried to slow Deol down, Sanskriti's fuller lengths proved expensive, as she stepped down to meet the ball and drove cleanly along the ground. The boundaries came mostly through placement, with Deol resisting the urge to force the pace.

That approach reflects the kind of batter Deol is. She is not a natural six-hitter, having struck just four sixes in 32 WPL and T20I innings over the last three years. All four of those sixes have come in her 24 matches in the WPL, 17 of which she has played in the top order. Her average of 31.78 and strike rate of 118.89 underline her role as an anchor but questions around her strike rate persists across formats, including ODIs.

Nayar aims to work on this aspect and add another layer to her game. "The first conversation I had with Harleen and Deepti [Sharma] when I met them was that starting today to next year, I want them to be different players," he said. "Everyone recognises them as touch players, and I want to bring them to a place where they are touch and power. My mindset is how I can take our Indian cricketers to another level as well, so those conversations are something I'm very mindful of.

"I think she [Harleen] is the only the second Indian player after Harmanpreet to get a 50 in this tournament [season] so far, and that's what you want to see. I was very happy to see her battle the strike rate, and it felt like very low-risk cricket, I'm sure watching from outside it felt like she wasn't taking many risks, and that's always good to have. I think once she starts adding power to that, she'll be a terrific batter for India."

But for now, Deol is happy with her method that brought her success against MI. "Honestly, yesterday gave me a lot of confidence because the first two games didn't go my way. But then, I went on and figured out a few things. I was just trying to overhit a few things. Now, this wicket is not something, [on] which, for me as a batter, to just keep overhitting. [It was] just more on timing-based things."

And for one night, about 24 hours after a brief setback, that was enough.