RCB appoint tennis great Sania Mirza as 'Mentor' of their Women's Premier League team

Royal Challengers Bangalore announced the Indian tennis great Sania Mirza as the mentor of their new team, which will participate in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) tournament. RCB took to their social media handle on Wednesday to make the announcement, less than a month before WPL 2023 begins. RCB also shared a video, where Mirza can be seen speaking about her new role, which will mark the beginning of her post-professional tennis career.

“The pioneer in Indian sports for women, a youth icon, someone who has played Bold and broken barriers throughout her career, and a champion on and off the field. We are proud to welcome Sania Mirza as the mentor of the RCB women’s cricket team,” RCB tweeted. The WPL schedule was announced on Tuesday, as it was revealed the 22-match tournament will kick off on March 4.

Following up on their tweet, the six-time Grand Slam winner said, “While our coaching staff handle the cricket side of things, we couldn’t think of anyone better to guide our women cricketers about excelling under pressure. Join us in welcoming the mentor of our women's team, a champion athlete and a trailblazer! Namaskara, Sania Mirza!”.

'Little surprised but I was really excited': Sania Mirza

As per the video shared by RCB, Sania was asked about her reaction to the team reaching out to her with the role. “I was a little surprised but I was really excited because fortunately or unfortunately it is very depressing sometimes when I think of it because it is so long. But, I feel like my next job when I retire is to help young women, and young girls believe that sports can be one of the first career choices for them”.

Speaking further in the video, Sania emphasized on the importance of the team-building process. Following the conclusion of the WPL 2023 Auction on Monday, RCB announced Team India sensation Smriti Mandhana as the captain of the team, which also features several big names in women’s cricket from all around the globe. Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh, Sophie Divine, and Heather Knight are among the top cricketers in RCB.