Mental health has been an integral part of every sport, but it is rarely considered at par with physical health. Good physical and mental health is essential for any sportsperson to perform at his best. In recent times athletes have started talking about it more openly and management has also put it at the top of their priority list.
Moving in the same direction, Royal Challengers Bangalore have taken a major step in tackling the mental state of the players as the franchise enters the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). In a departure from the leak, the management has appointed Indian tennis superstar Sania Mirza as the team mentor for the season.
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People might call it mismatched – a tennis player guiding a bunch of cricketers. But before classifying Sania on the basis of the sport she played throughout her life; It must be recognized that first of all, she has been an athlete. A sportsperson who never gave up on his dreams, worked tirelessly to reach new heights and the rest, as they say, is history.
Sania’s journey in tennis has spanned over two decades and she comes to the RCB camp with immense experience, certainly not in playing cricket but in dealing with the challenges that come with playing the game at a professional level.
“I don’t know anything about cricket. I thought (when I was mentored) what am I going to do, what am I going to talk to the girls. I recently retired, actually last week. So , I was thinking what was my next step in life. So, my next step was to try and help women athletes in India and in India,” Sania said while addressing the RCB squad.
“I was in an individual sport, so I handled the photo shoots, the media attention, everything on my own, so I thought okay, I can really give something to the girls. It’s normal to feel pressure but you just have to know that How to deal with it, reduce the noise a bit and the Indian media is tough.”
Understanding mental health from a cricketer’s point of view
Who better to explain this factor than a cricketer playing the game at the highest level? Ahead of the WP 2023 opener, former India captain Anjum Chopra interacted with select media where she addressed the issue of mental health.
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“Mental health has always been important. It’s just that it’s getting attention as we see it happening with other players. People are coming out and saying it’s important. But if you If you ask any sportsperson, he will say that you need to be fit. Now what does that mean?” Chopra answered the News18 CricketNext question during an interaction organized by official broadcasters Sports18 and JioCinema.
The former Indian skipper cited the example of the current Indian women’s cricket team, which is full of talented youngsters but has repeatedly failed to outperform Australia, especially in ICC tournaments.
“You have to be there not only efficiently but also mentally. When girls [Indian team] Face Australia, what is that element that breaks down the Aussie wall? It is not that the girls are not mentally prepared to do it in big tournaments. either a lack of skill or a lack of confidence, so these are the small elements when you’re competing at the highest level
“So, once it’s identified, mental health becomes an important factor, but it shouldn’t dominate everything.
,Wo to coach bachpan mein hi keh deta hai ki aap zayada time do practice mein(Coaches say in the beginning that you need to grind a little more), so it is nothing but mental health,” Chopra further explained.
Is it justified for Sania to join cricket?
This question must have come in the mind of many and thanks to Anjum who explained it beautifully. He called it a ‘good move’, saying it is a great gesture to value the country’s champions, irrespective of the sport they play.
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“Sania Mirza is coming, I see it as a very good thing. He probably has a franchise connection, he’s a local and he definitely has an association with Down South. It is good that as a nation we are giving importance to our international athletes who have brought laurels to the country. It doesn’t matter whether he has played cricket or not,” Chopra told News18 CricketNext.
The former Indian skipper cited the example of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, who was cheering at the stadium for Team India during the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
Anjum says that a champion athlete can very well understand what a sportsperson needs to go through before an important game.
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“We saw Neeraj Chopra cheering for the Indian girls in the U-19 World Cup final. This is a wonderful work. A champion can correlate with what a player is doing the night or day before the final. I love the fact that we have become a country where we value our champions and it is great for RCB that they have done so.
Smriti Mandhana-led RCB Women will begin their campaign in WPL 2023 against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon.
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