JOIN US'WPL will change the face of women's cricket in India'
Having been part of women's cricket for close to two decades, Ben Sawyer knows a thing or two about winning at the highest level.
Besides winning three World Cup titles as an assistant coach with the Australian women's side, the 45-year-old has also been the head coach of the highly-successful Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League. He is also currently in charge of the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.
It then makes sense why Royal Challengers Bangalore went out on a limb to acquire his services for the inaugural edition of the upcoming Women's Premier League.
"I am glad we started the process (of poaching for Sawyer) a little while earlier than expected," said Mike Hesson, the director of cricket at RCB. "We knew he was the best person for the job and he has some stellar players under him so we're confident of what he will be able to do with us."
Hesson also admitted that it would be hard to manoeuvre the team with as many talented foreign players in the side, but it's a pleasant problem to have given the frequency of games at the start of the tournament.
Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Dane van Niekerk, Erin Burns, and Megan Schutt are the foreign recruits for the Bengaluru side, but with only four getting a go at any given point, it will be interesting to see what strategy RCB employ to get the best out of their rather impressive unit.
Sawyer, for his part, noted that Indian cricket will benefit tremendously from the WPL, so much so that other nations are already fearing the trajectory Indian cricket will take in the wake of the new tournament.
"I have seen the impact WBBL and The Hundred have had on women’s cricket," noted Sawyer. "WPL is a different beast. It has the potential to revolutionise women's cricket in India, and that's a scary proposition for other nations because women's cricket in India is already at such a high level."
Sawyer went so far as saying that the WPL could well help the Indian side overcome their mental block when it comes to winning big-ticket events. India recently lost to Australia in the semifinals of the Women's T20 World Cup. "Once they win one or two games (against Australia), there is going to be no stopping the Indian team."