Namaskara, Sania Mirza! RCB’s WPL cricket team welcomes tennis legend; watch her message to fans

The Women's Premier League (WPL) will see Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) women's team mentored by Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza. On February 15, the RCB's official Twitter account acknowledged the change.

In addition to purchasing all-rounders Sophie Devine for her base price of ₹50 lakh and Ellyse Perry for ₹1.7 crore, RCB spent nearly 50% of their total budget of ₹12 crore on three players in the first marquee set.

At the first WPL auction in Mumbai, Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive purchase and went to RCB for ₹3.4 crore. At the auction on February 13, she was also the first player to be put up for bid.

“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!” the RCB tweeted.

“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,” the RCB wrote while sharing a video.

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Sania said she was a little surprised but she was excited. As she has been a professional athlete for 20 years, her next job is to “try and help young women and young girls believe that sports can be one of the first career choices for them”, the legendary Indian tennis player said after the RCB appointment.

When asked about what she would bring on board for the Royal Challengers, Mirza stated that handling pressure is a key to any sport and she will work with the players on their mental aspect.

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There are many similarities between tennis and cricket, according to Mirza, as every athlete has the same mindset and experiences similar pressure. It's crucial to know how to handle pressure situations and embrace them, she said. If you can't embrace pressure, you won't be able to succeed under it. Those who can bear pressure are the greatest of champions, Mirza added.

Sania said she was looking forward to working with the girls on that element of it, the mental aspect. If women's cricket can achieve what the IPL has for men's cricket, young girls may see playing sports as a natural alternative, she said.