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Abhishek Nayar did not hide behind excuses after UP Warriorz slipped to a second straight defeat in the WPL. The head coach admitted that promoting Harleen Deol to open against Royal Challengers Bengaluru – and moving the hard-hitting Kiran Navgire down to No. 4 – was a tactical punt that simply failed.
“We felt that with the moving ball at that point, Harleen could add a bit of value in the powerplay,” Nayar explained shortly after the seven-wicket loss in Bengaluru. “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.”
Deol, promoted on the back of that rationale, managed just 12 from 14 balls and struggled to put away Lauren Bell, whose heavy seam movement produced nine dot balls. Navgire, usually a free-flowing opener, lasted only three deliveries for 5, spooning a pull straight to deep mid-wicket. Their dismissals triggered a mini-collapse: four wickets disappeared for 11 runs and Warriorz slumped to 50 for 5 inside eight overs. From that point Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin were forced into damage-limitation, nudging the total up to 143 for 5 – still well short on a surface that eased out under lights.
The experiment felt more jarring because it followed another shuffle in the previous fixture. In that match, chasing 208 against Gujarat Giants, Navgire had come in at No. 4, Deol had opened, and both fell cheaply: Navgire for 1 from four balls, Deol for a two-ball duck. Warriorz still pushed the game deep thanks to Phoebe Litchfield’s crisp 78 and late blows from Shweta Sehrawat, but fell ten runs shy. “Sometimes you can over-analyse the opposition and end up confusing your own players,” one back-room staffer conceded quietly afterwards.
Sehrawat, naturally a top-order striker, has been asked to bat in the lower middle order and keep wicket – a dual brief designed to fast-track her into the national conversation. “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.”
Sehrawat repaid some of that faith against the Giants, belting a 17-ball 25 that included three sixes – the first, a clean strike over extra cover off Renuka Singh, arriving from her very first delivery. Domestically she has been bedding into the role, striking at 144.57 in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy and 157.89 at Under-23 level, suggesting the transition is realistic rather than speculative.
Analytically, Warriorz have leaked in two obvious areas so far: early wickets with the bat and early boundaries with the ball. They conceded 62 in the powerplay to RCB and 57 to the Giants, placing unsustainable pressure on a bowling group that has looked tidy once the field spreads. The plan for the next outing, Nayar hinted, is to shed the over-thinking and return to straightforward roles.
“We know our strengths. We probably tried to be too clever,” a candid senior player remarked in the dressing-room corridor. “Let people bat where they bat, bowl where they bowl – then back the skills.”
Warriorz remain optimistic: two defeats can be rectified quickly in a short tournament, and the squad still boasts proven finishers and the experienced spin of Ecclestone and Deepti. Yet Nayar’s mea culpa felt necessary. By owning the tactical mis-step he may have bought his players the clarity he initially sought.
There is still time, but the next match now carries extra weight. Another misfire and the tinkering might give way to outright changes in personnel. For the moment, the message from the coach is simple: trust the basics, avoid the noise, and keep the faith.
