Harleen Deol Wiki, Height, Age, Boyfriend, Family, Biography & More

Harleen Deol is an Indian cricketer who plays as a Batsman for the Indian Women’s national cricket team. A right-hand batsman and a right-arm leg spin & leg-break googly bowler, Harleen Deol is the second Women cricketer from Chandigarh to play for India (after Taniya Bhatia). Harleen shot to fame with her ‘Catch of the Year’ against England in the first T20 match in July 2021. On 13 February 2023, Harleen Deol was signed by Gujarat Giants for Rs. 40 lakhs.

Wiki/Biography

Harleen Kaur Deol was born on Sunday, 21 June 1998 (age 25 years; as of 2023) in Chandigarh, Punjab. Her zodiac sign is Gemini.

Her father hails from Patiala, Punjab. She did her schooling at Yadvindra Public School, Mohali. Harleen attended MCM DAV College, Chandigarh, to pursue her graduation in arts. She developed an interest in cricket at a young age and started playing cricket with her brother when she was seven years old. Soon, she started accompanying her brother to a neighbourhood park, where she played cricket with him and his friends. As her brother got into his higher studies, he stopped playing cricket. However, Harleen continued playing cricket with other boys in the park. Looking at Deol (the only girl), playing cricket with boys, her neighbours often complained about her to her mother, which her mother often ignored. Once, while Harleen was in class 3, her school’s cricket coach Praveen Singha noticed her bowling to the best batsman in her class. Impressed with her skills at such a young age, the coach asked her to attend the trials of the U-19 school team. She was eight years old at that time. Following her selection in the trials, Harleen started playing for her school’s cricket team in inter-school matches. Subsequently, she started playing inter-district cricket under the guidance of her coach RP Singh. Deol idolised Bret Lee in her childhood. Since, Harleen occasionally bowled a leg-spin as a variation, her coach once asked her to try for Punjab’s junior team as there was a requirement for a leg spinner.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 3″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Brown

Family

Parents & Siblings

Harleen Deol’s father, Baghel Singh Deol, is a businessman. Her mother, Charanjit Kaur Deol, is a government employee. She has an elder brother, Manjot Singh Deol, who is a doctor.

Affairs/Boyfriends

Apparently, she had a boyfriend named Majid Malik in her school days.

Cricket

Domestic

Harleen Deol started playing for Punjab Women in the sub-junior tournament when she was 10 years old. After playing a few matches for Punjab, Harleen moved to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association in search of better opportunities. In 2015, she scored 116 runs for the north zone against the east zone in an inter-zonal tournament. In 2017, while Deol was playing for Punjab Women in a tournament, she broke her finger and was ruled out of the team for the entire season.

Harleen, who earlier used to play as a lower-order batsman, started playing as an opener after a match against Hyderabad, where her team quickly shelled four wickets for 22 runs. After Deol came to play on the pitch, she took the score to 100. Impressed with her performance, the coach told her that her batting was better than some top-order batsmen and asked her to open in the next match. In the very next match, as an opener, she scored 49 runs. Harleen has also played several matches for India Red Women.

International

One Day International

In February 2019, Harleen Deol received her ODI cap from Jhulan Goswami, becoming the second Indian woman cricketer from Chandigarh to become a part of the Indian women’s national team after Taniya Bhatia.

Deol made her one-day international (ODI) debut for India on 22 February 2019, in which she played against England at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

T20

Harleen Deol made her T20 International debut on 4 March 2019 against England Women at Guwahati. In January 2020, she was a part of the Indian squad that competed in the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Harleen has also played for India A Women and India C Women.

Women’s T20 Challenge

On 6 May 2019, Harleen Deol made her debut for IPL Trailblazers against IPL Supernovas in the Women’s T20 Challenge. In the match, she put together a splendid 119-run partnership with Smriti Mandhana. She played for Trailblazers till 2020.

In 2022, she started playing for IPL Supernovas.

Commonwealth Games

In July 2022, she was a part of the Indian Women’s team that represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The team entered the finals after beating England Women by four runs in the semi-finals. However, in the final match of the tournament, India lost to Australia by nine runs, securing a silver medal.

Women’s Premier League (WPL)

In February 2023, during the auctions of the inaugural Women’s Premier League, Gujarat Giants secured her services for Rs. 40 lakhs.

Catch of the Year

On 10 July 2021, during the first T20I at Northampton, Harleen Deol took one of the most sensational and jaw-dropping catches in the history of Women’s cricket, dismissing Amy Jones, an England batter. Apparently, Jones was batting on 43 when in the nineteenth over of the innings, off the bowling of Shikha Pandey, she lofted the ball towards the boundary line, hoping to clear the in-field. However, as the ball reached near the rope, Deol, who was positioned at long-off, timed her jump perfectly and caught the ball safely. The moment she realised that she was about to get over the rope in the momentum, she quickly threw the ball in the air and went back on the field to catch it again before it touched the ground. Impressed with her catch, the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised her for the memorable catch.

Favourites

• Food: Chicken and Chilli Paneer prepared by her mother

• Book: You Can Win by Shiv Khera

• Subject (in school): Chemistry

Facts/Trivia

• She follows a non-vegetarian diet.

• Harleen loves dancing, watching movies, and playing golf in her leisure time.

  Harleen Deol playing golf

• Harleen also played basketball and football in her school days.

• Her family and friends fondly call her Harry.

• In an interview, Harleen revealed that if not a cricketer, she would be a pilot.

• Harleen Deol has endorsed the vitamins and supplements brand Fast&Up on her Instagram account.

  Harleen Deol endorsing Fast&Up on Instagram

• Harleen is a dog lover and often posts her pictures with dogs on social media accounts.

  Harleen Deol with a dog

• Harleen is very particular about her fitness and follows a strict workout regimen.

  Harleen Deol during her workout session

• In an interview, Harleen revealed that it was her grandmother Gurdev Kaur’s dream that Harleen becomes a cricketer.

• In an interview, while talking about the injuries that her daughter suffered while playing cricket, Harleen’s mother said,
  

  Harleen started playing cricket at the age of seven and I still remember her coming home from the Yadvindra Public School ground after bowling with a broken finger within months of her starting her career. Once while playing for Himachal Pradesh in Gujarat, she bowled despite an injured finger. To see her take such a sensational catch without worrying about the fall and getting praise from players like Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman and Nasser Hussain apart from leaders and fans is the biggest reward for Harleen’s hard work,”