'This isn't a normal thing in women's game...': Warriorz mentor Lisa Sthalekar on retiring Harleen Deol
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'This isn't a normal thing in women's game...': Warriorz mentor Lisa Sthalekar on retiring Harleen Deol")
Harleen Deol Photograph: (X)
This was only the third time a batter has been retired out in women’s white-ball leagues. Before Deol, Kathryn Bryce was retired out while playing for Manchester Originals against Northern Superchargers in the Women’s Hundred in 2024 and Ayushi Soni in WPL 2026.
In match 7 of WPL 2026 between Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, middle-order batter Harleen Deol on Wednesday (Jan 14) became only the second player in WPL history to be retired out, after Gujarat Giants’ Ayushi Soni, who was taken off a day earlier against Mumbai Indians. The 27-year-old from Chandigarh was batting on 47 runs from 36 balls when head coach Abhishek Nayar asked her to come off the field just before the 18th over. The decision came as a surprise for her and Deol looked visibly shocked. Her replacement, Chloe Tryon, failed to make an impact and was dismissed by N. Shree Charani after scoring just one run from three balls.
This was only the third time a batter has been retired out in women’s white-ball leagues. Before Deol, Kathryn Bryce was retired out while playing for Manchester Originals against Northern Superchargers in the Women’s Hundred in 2024 and Ayushi Soni in WPL 2026.
The retire out seems the go to option in T20 leagues this year with as many as eight batters being out the same way in both men's and women's league including Deol. Before her, Nic Maddison (Jan 3 in BBL ), Jeet Rawal (Jan 4 in Super Smash), Xavier Bell (Jan 4 in Super Smash), Roston Chase (Jan 7 in SA20), Tim Pringle (Jan 8 in Super Smash), Mohammad Rizwan (Jan 12 in BBL) and Ayushi Soni (Jan 13 in WPL) are the batters to be retired out in T20s in 2026.
UPW mentor Lisa Sthalekar on retiring Harleen Deol out
UP Warriorz mentor Lisa Sthalekar explained the decision after the match. She said head coach Abhishek Nayar suggested retiring Deol to bring in fresh batter, which is still uncommon in women’s cricket. Deol struggled to find the boundary, and the team felt a stronger hitter was needed for the final overs.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
"He (Nayar) turns to me and he goes, 'I think it's the time we need to potentially bring Harleen off.' And I was like, 'Ooh, okay, this isn't a normal thing in the women's game,'" UPW mentor Lisa Sthalekar said.
“And then I think another over came and she just wasn't able to get that swing, that power that we needed to clear the boundaries. So then it was decided (to retire her out). And then he (Nayar) spoke, I think, to Meg (Lanning, the captain) and a couple of the coaches just quickly to make sure we were all on the same page. And then we pulled the trigger,” she added.
She further explained that there are merit in the decision to bring in a more hard-hitting batter, but it came with an element of risk.
"The only thing I questioned was, I think, Meg got out, and I said, 'If we pull her (Deol) the next over, then you've got two new batters (at the crease). She's kind of got used to the conditions. But I think we had about 40 (18) deliveries left. So it's like, how are we going to maximise those deliveries? And we still felt with Chloe, with an Asha (Sobhana), with a Sophie, that we still had firepower. Like I said, sometimes these things work and we look like geniuses. And sometimes they don't. And that's why we love this game of cricket. It keeps us on our toes," she explained.
Despite the move, UP Warriorz lost the match and Delhi Capitals chased the target successfully in the last over, led by Lizelle Lee’s excellent 67, with strong support from Shafali Verma’s 36.
