During the summit, which convened influential leaders across diverse industries to explore the future of sports, Mandhana shared her excitement about the possibility of incorporating a multi-city format, while also reflecting on the achievements of the WPL.
“It would be great to have WPL in the multi-city format. I think that might be the next step and I am sure the people right here would look into it and make it happen. As an RCB fan, I would love to play in Chinnaswamy where people are chanting ‘RCB RCB’ and just to be in that environment. That is something which is one step ahead for us that it (multi-city format) can reach to places where women’s cricket hasn’t reached and to get new audience going into women’s cricket,” Mandhana commented.
Madhana, 27, is convinced that the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India served as an essential platform for comprehending how individuals in various business sectors perceive sports as a means to generate digital metrics.
She advocates for the event to occur more frequently, emphasizing the importance of engaging with other sports icons and top executives in the business realm.
Before the WPL auction and the commencement of the tournament’s second season, Mandhana emphasized the significance of a supportive environment that the franchise has meticulously arranged. She expressed her commitment to prioritize the time spent with the team.
“A lot of thoughts have gone into what kind of combinations we need in terms of releases or retention. So we are really looking forward to the WPL auctions and hopefully, we get the players who we are looking forward to getting,” added Mandhana.
Addressing the progress of women’s sports in India, Mandhana underscored the notable accomplishments of female athletes in the recent years. She accentuated the cultural shift, stating, “Women in India are doing amazing stuff in the last five to 10 years not only in women’s cricket but in women’s sport in general. If you see the last Olympics or Commonwealth or Asian Games, the kind of medals women’s athletes have gone and got for the country is a big inspiration for a lot of smaller city girls out there to pursue their passion. I think women’s sports in general should be treated separately and by doing that they can definitely sell a lot of things in terms of the ticketing or the digital rights.”
When queried about the aspects requiring additional investment or attention to propel women’s cricket further, Mandhana recommended directing efforts towards the grassroots level.
“The only thing that we could invest in is the grassroots level of women’s sport in general because a lot of interest is developed with the Indian Women’s team or the WPL tournament. Invest more so that we get a lot more cricketers women cricketers,” she remarked.
Inspired by women athletes on the global sports stage, Mandhana expressed her admiration for Alex Morgan in women’s FIFA and recognized Serena Williams’ monumental achievements in tennis as key sources of motivation.
(With IANS inputs)
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