Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana said on Monday that the Women’s Premier League has changed the “conversations” surrounding women in cricket, and hopes that other disciplines have similar success stories. Mandhana had led the RCB to the WPL triumph last year, the franchise’s first title in history. “We did play in the Big Bash League mode before WPL and this and that-the queries were all on when we would have our own league, and the WPL went ahead and changed the conversations surrounding women in cricket,” Mandhana commented during the report launch-Sports-Forward Nation.
The Mandhana-led RCB will be looking to defend its title during the third season of the WPL which begins on February 14.
“The IPL has done so much for men’s cricket, and it’s like wow, the WPL can also do things to women’s cricket. And it would be inspiring to also see stories like these (WPL) coming out of other disciplines as well,” she commented further.
Rajesh Menon, Chief Operating Officer of RCB, observed that grassroots participation needed to improve for the country to become a true blue sporting power.
“We need more involvement and investment at the grassroots level. But to be a champion nation in sport, we need to be able to give the right environment for development to our athletes. It requires right decisions by the stakeholders at the right time,” explained Menon.
Mandhana expressed satisfaction with the progress women’s sport has made in the country as a whole in the last few years, adding that she would only want deeper penetration at the grassroots level.
“Two women’s teams competing in a gully sport and having the time of their lives is what we consider our ultimate dream. If that happens, then we can really say we have inspired girls to take up sports in which case, it will be a total win for us in this life as sports persons,” she said.