“Surprised to see Harleen Deol was retired in the last game” - Harmanpreet Kaur after Harleen Deol’s heroics vs MI Women

Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stated that she was surprised to see Harleen Deol being retired out in the middle of the innings in the game against Delhi Capitals in the ongoing WPL 2026 season.

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Delving into the details, before the start of the 18th over against the Delhi Capitals, the UP Warriorz coach Abhishek Nayar wanted Harleen to retire out while she was batting on 47 runs off 36 balls. Harleen was visibly disappointed after Nayar’s decision. Unfortunately, UP Warriorz went on to suffer a seven-wicket defeat in that encounter.

However, in the very next game, Harleen Deol went on to play a heroic knock against MI Women, scripting a seven-wicket win. She went on to score 64* runs off 39 balls with 12 fours at a strike rate of 164.1, winning the player of the match award.

“I think she's shown what, you know, why she's there in the side and what she can bring to the team. And I think today she batted beautifully and I think she's someone who always wanted to do well for her team. Yeah, surprised to see she was retired in the last game, but I think she came up with very positive mindset and I hope she'll continue that,” Harmanpreet Kaur said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

After winning the player of the match award against MI Women, Harleen was elated with the side’s first win of the season. She explained the key changes she made in her batting style in the last games.

“Feels good. A first win for the team and I'm very happy. Actually, that night also I was batting well but as you saw today, how Chloe can change the scenario. For me I just took it that way. Chloe is someone who can hit big so probably that didn't go our way. That is the only thing which happened,” Harleen Deol said after winning the POTM award.

“Nothing different actually. I just got a few boundary balls, so I could convert it into boundaries. Sometimes it's just your day - wherever you are thinking to hit, the ball comes there, so it was that for me,” she added.

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“It's just normal preparation for me. Nothing different. I was batting well yesterday also. There's no point just keep stressing on that thing. Honestly yesterday it gave me a lot of confidence in fact, 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, this wicket is not something which you know for me as a batter to just keep overhitting and just more on timing based things,” she concluded.

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