INDORE: In October 2022 when the Senior Women’s T20 tournament was underway in Bengaluru, Royal Challengers Bangalore Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson shared a picture on Instagram saying, “our scouts are in the house. We don’t ignore.” While those in the fraternity were aware, it was the first time the IPL franchise had come out in public to say that they are getting ready for a women’s IPL.
At that point, nobody knew that the Women’s Premier League would be launched within months. But RCB were making sure they were prepared for any possibility of it. And when the time came, they went all out to acquire the Bangalore franchise and did the same in the auction to assemble an all-star squad for the inaugural edition of the tournament.
They had Smriti Mandhana as captain, a stellar support staff and had brought in tennis champion Sania Mirza as the mentor on the field. Off it, they announced “Sports For All” initiative on Saturday in Mumbai, which will focus on building icons, identifying talents, providing them opportunity to play and leverage and expand the existing fan base.
While they have started the work on the first two with the stars they have got in the auction and the talents they scouted through former India cricketer Vanitha VR, Prathmesh Mishra, CCO of Diageo and Chairman of RCB said that the roadmap to providing more opportunities will begin after the tournament. As for the fourth point, if leveraging the audience and creating a market, they know the work they have to do.
Mishra said ensuring the engagement of the fans and the next generation is key to making this tournament and the franchise a success. “If you look at Young India, they are all citizens of the global world. They are netizens, they are all digitally savvy and engaging them is the most critical aspect. We all know that and this youth is driving the country and not reaching out to them is not an option. They are the largest cohort,” Mishra told this daily.
“The onus is on these five teams to actually make an impact. I’m sure if you do a good job, fill the stadiums create excitement in every nook and corner of the country, then the BCCI may look at it, open it up and the teams will get an opportunity to come back and expand,” Mishra told this daily.
However, success isn’t the only goal in this franchise’s mind. They knew they are not going to make the numbers financially even before they spent `901 crore on the team. “We didn’t think too much of returns for the women’s team. As I mentioned, it’s the purpose. It’s the ecosystem that will be the larger impact. If all goes well, India is the growth for next not decade, maybe next 100 years,” he added.