NEWS
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore have roped in the services of Sania Mirza as a mentor of the women's team ahead of the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League.
"I was a little surprised, but I was really excited. My next job, or what I see for myself is I want to make young girls believe sport can be one of the first career choices for them. I want to help the next generation into believing in themselves no matter how much the odds are against you, you can achieve your goals," Mirza said in conversation with RCB.
"The mental aspect of it is something I look forward to working with the younger girls. I feel I can help bring in the mental steadiness, the mental belief, I can talk of the experiences I've had over 20 years of playing. Being the only Indian woman doing it for so many years has been lonely, but the pressure has been high, that kind of stuff is something I can truly help with," she further added.
The 36-year-old is the winner of six grand slams and recently retired from tennis after the Australian Open, where she and her mixed doubles partner Rohan Bopanna finished runners-up.
Ben Sawyer to be the head coach
Later on Wednesday, the franchise also announced Ben Sawyer as their head coach. The 45-year-old is currently also the head coach of the White Ferns. Malolan Rangarajan, who was the head of scouting, has been appointed assistant coach. Meanwhile, former India opener Vanitha VR will be the fielding coach, while RX Murali has been signed as the batting coach.
"He (Ben Sawyer) has been part of Women's cricket over 20 years now, knows the cricketers thoroughly, understands the game and has been involved in our preparations right from the beginning," Hesson was quoted as saying in the club statement.
"I am really delighted to have him and he is as excited to join us. We also have Malo who has been part of our men's system and scouting team and he will bring a lot of value as Vanitha and RX Murali who have extensive experience of working in Karnataka with the women players and are highly sought after. We have a great team of talented support staff too along with the coaching team who we want to grow and develop too."
RCB have assembled a star-studded team in the auction on February 13 with the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry and Sophie Devine in their ranks. The franchise acquired the services of the India vice-captain for a whopping 3.40 Crores in the auction, the highest bid for any player and will mostly likely lead the team in the tournament.
The Bangalore-based franchise will kickstart their campaign on March 5 against Delhi Capitals in an afternoon encounter at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
