UP Warriorz mentor Lisa Sthalekar has opened up on the team's decision to retire out Harleen Deol in Match 7 of the 2026 Women's Premier League. Harleen was retired out after the completion of the 17th over of the innings after registering 47 off 36.

Sthalekar conceded that the plan to retire out Harleen was that of head coach Abhishek Nayar. She also revealed that Nayar spoke to Meg Lanning and a few members of the coaching staff before finally bringing Harleen off as she was not able to accelerate adequately.

"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.

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 spoke, I think, to Meg and a couple of the coaches just quickly to make sure we were all on the same page. Then, we pulled the trigger," stated Sthalekar, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Sthalekar mentioned that the trend of retiring players out should not be seen as a taboo and instead be perceived through the lens of strategic evolution. 

"I think the game keeps evolving and if we keep getting stuck in the past, then someone's going to catch us up. In terms of why people retire players out, it's because they probably feel there's more power still to come. And if you're trying to capitalise on the last few overs, you want the balls to be cleared to the boundaries with ease. And that's why a number of teams, over a recent period of time, have decided to retire a player out and bring in firepower.

Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn't," he added.

Deol had a bright start to her innings, scoring 28 off 18 deliveries. She was then on 39 off 26. However, her last 10 deliveries accounted for only eight runs, with no boundaries scored between the UP Warriorz' 15th and 17th overs. Deol looked in disbelief after being signalled by Nayar to make her way out.