Interview | The injury layoff taught me how to deal with setbacks, says Gujarat Giants’ Harleen Deol Premium

Harleen Deol's impressive comeback in the Women's Premier League and reflections on her journey back to form.

Featuring at ninth among the top-10 run-getters in the Women’s Premier League this year, Harleen Deol is one of three Gujarat Giants players in the list, alongside the Australian duo of Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner. Their contributions have gone a long way towards helping GG enter the Eliminator for the first time since the competition began in 2023.

The 26-year-old’s ongoing campaign is in stark contrast to last season, where she suffered a premature exit after an attempt to intercept the ball at the cover boundary resulted in a knee injury and a long layoff. Since returning from injury, Harleen has got back into India’s ODI team, notably smashing her first international ton against West Indies in Vadodara in December.

In an interview with The Hindu ahead of GG’s Eliminator against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday, Harleen reflected on her injury, her return to India’s 50-over set-up, her fielding ability and more. Excerpts:

Gujarat Giants has never beaten MI in six meetings. Where could the game on Thursday be won or lost?

Whenever you play big matches, it is just about handling the pressure the right way. Whoever does that is going to win. Mumbai have played two back-to-back matches and have just had a day’s break. They are coming off a loss (against Royal Challengers Bengaluru). So, they also have a challenge to overcome.

You have been batting well of late. Would you say this is the best you have batted in the WPL?

I won’t say I am batting at my best. I had a pretty good season in the first year too. But when you miss out one season, you keep feeling you have missed out on an opportunity. But that’s eventually how you learn things and that’s how you analyse. When you come back, you have got time to fill in the boxes that were lacking. For me, it has been like that. If I can play well in the next two matches, then I would say this is going to be my best (season).