18 is the number for RCB! For years the Bengaluru fans have chanted “E Sala Cup Namde” and now it’s upon the new captain with 18 on her jersey to make that dream come true. The Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural Women’s Premier League will be led by Smriti Mandhana.
Filled with names such as Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, and Sophie Divine alongside the Indian opener, the side has a wealth of experience going in the tournament while India’s youngest sensations Richa Ghosh and pacer Renuka Thakur add the zest. But what sets them apart from every other team is their focus on the mental aspect of things for which the team has roped Tennis Legend Sania Mirza as their mentor
“You are only as good as how you perform on that day”-Sania Mirza
The name of Indian Tennis for the past two decades, Sania feels despite her lack of cricketing knowledge, she can very well contribute to helping the ladies mentally.
“I know nothing about cricket. I thought about what I am going to do( as a mentor), and what am I going to talk to the girls about. I recently retired, last week. So I was thinking what’s my next step in life? So my next step was to try and help women athletes around and in India,” said Sania Mirza.
“In any sport, to help with the mental aspect of things which I have been through for the last 20 years, I was in an individual sport, so photo shoot, media attention everything I handled on my own, so I thought ok I can give something to the girls.” she stated.
“It’s normal to feel the pressure but you just have to know how to deal with it, block the noise a little bit, and Indian media is tough. There is a struggle in everything. Our job as an athlete is to inspire the next generation. You are only as good as how you perform on that day. The champions are not winning all the time, the champions are winning when they are not playing well. You have to remember why you started playing cricket because you love the game” she added
Australia heads the way
The inaugural Women’s Premier League saw women from a plethora of nations coming in to be a part of the biggest celebration of women’s cricket. The largest of which have come from Australia, more than any Indian state the Aussies have a representation of 14 players.
In a league that is supposed to take women’s cricket to the next level in the country, three of the five teams are headed by Australians, apart from the RCB( Smriti Mandhana) and MI( Harmanpreet Kaur), which has bought much criticism from the experts and fans.