Tennis legend Sania Mirza's appointment as RCB mentor for WPL leaves cricket fans divided

Indian tennis great Sania Mirza was announced as the mentor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) women’s team, for the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023. RCB announced the development on Wednesday, two days after the team spent INR 11.9 crore to buy 18 cricketers at the inaugural WPL Auction. Having drawn curtains to her Grand Slam career by finishing second in the mixed doubles event at the Australian Open 2023, Mirza will now essay a new role in a completely different sport. 

Revealing her thoughts on her appointment, Sania Mirza revealed she was surprised on being approached for the role by RCB, but is also excited about the same. As the development came to light, Indian sporting fans were divided in their opinions on the matter. Few fans hailed the Bangalore-based franchise for their decision to include the women’s tennis great in their squad, others questioned the Smriti Mandhana-led WPL side for it.

“What will a tennis player do in a cricket team?"

Reacting to the announcement on Twitter a user wrote, “What will a tennis player do in a cricket team”. A Twitter user defended RCB’s decision and said, “Just listen to her before you all criticize, because here many of them came to with out knowing meaning of MENTOR . She strongly believe herself to be a mentor my role what is that how she is going to approach everyone how she will motivate”.

WPL 2023: A look at the reactions to Sania Mirza's appointment as RCB mentor