Abhishek Nayar takes 'complete responsibility' for UP Warriorz second consecutive loss

UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar

accepted responsibility for the team’s batting-order reshuffle against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, conceding that the decision to promote Harleen Deol to the top of the order did not pay off. The move, made with match-ups in mind, came under scrutiny after the side suffered its second consecutive loss of the WPL 2026 season.

Deol was asked to open the innings in place of Kiran Navgire, who had begun the tournament as an opener but was pushed down to number four.

The decision was influenced by expectations of early movement with the new ball, but the strategy failed to deliver the desired results.

“We felt that with the moving ball at that point, Harleen could add a bit of value in the power play. 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,” Nayar told after the match as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"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," Nayar added.

The early setbacks proved costly for UPW. Deol struggled to get going against Lauren Bell, consuming nine dot balls during her 14-ball stay before miscuing a shot to mid-off. Navgire, sent in at No. four, managed just five runs from three deliveries before being dismissed at deep mid-wicket. Her wicket triggered a sharp collapse, with the Warriorz losing four wickets for just 11 runs, sliding to 50 for five.

A recovery effort followed, with Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin stitching together an unbeaten partnership to guide the team to a competitive, if below-par, total of 143 for 5. Reflecting on the innings, Nayar downplayed the significance of the batting order in the context of the collapse. The UPW coach reiterated his broader philosophy regarding flexibility in the shortest format. 

“In today’s game, you can’t talk too much about the batting order because we lost wickets in heaps. In our mind, it was quite simple. Everyone had their roles clear. But when you lose so many wickets, what role? You just have to go out and play,” the former Mumbai all-rounder said.

“For me, in T20 cricket, the numbers after your top three don’t really matter. The top three today was a call based on the opposition. Although I believe in having players play set roles, I also felt that today it didn’t work out. But that doesn’t mean Harleen can’t do it, or that Kiran can’t do it. It just didn’t work out today. If she had scored 100, we’d be having a different conversation," he expressed.

The Warriorz will next play on Wednesday against Delhi Capitals Women in Navi Mumbai. Both the sides are yet to win a match this season, and thus, it will be a mouthwatering contest for the fans to witness live.