Mirza, 36, who bowed out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis championship late on Tuesday, is looking forward to guiding the next generation of Indian champions.
“This has nothing to do with cricket,” she said of her appointment with RCB. “These younger girls have never been in positions where they’ve had so much money, millions riding on them.”
The Hyderabadi, a former world No. 1 and six-time major winner, in the most popular of women’s sports, said, “Many of them haven’t been on TV, haven’t done shoots for advertisements.
“It’s so easy to get distracted, it’s also easy to tense up and feel the pressure because there’s so much expectation on you. I’ll be able to share my experiences and make them feel more comfortable with the transition. It’s a huge deal for a lot of people to be playing for teams that have put so much money in it.”
“It’s great because it gets me to do something that I want to do. I’m able to share my experience in trying to make women’s sport better and more accepted, for the future in the subcontinent.”
Mirza, who has been at the forefront of women’s issues, has also constantly been asked about being a Muslim woman in sport, she argued that while religion was a personal space, her achievements underlined great possibilities.
“Every time I step on the court, I’m not really thinking, I’m this Muslim woman that’s trying to do this. I don’t think a Christian or Hindu is doing that. I don’t look at it like that,” she said.
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