Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise of Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to become the first team in the tournament to have appointed a woman in the support staff in the upcoming edition which will be the 13th edition of the League. The franchise has appointed Navnita Gautam as a sports massage therapist.

Navnita will work with Evan Speechly and Shankar Basu, the head physiotherapist and strength & conditioning coach respectively to identify, evaluate, provide guidance and implement massage therapy which would suit the team and any relevant changes according to the conditions as well. She will have the responsibility of performing specialized techniques related to the preparation, motivation, overall supervision and all individual physical ailments relating to the team as well.

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While talking about the appointment, Sanjeev Churiwala, chairman of the franchise, said: “I am very pleased to be a part of this moment in history and another step in the right direction. The game has come a long way, in many ways, in terms of the women’s cricket team and how many people are watching it, the interest was long due.”

“Sport is a great enabler, but it is important to ensure that the principles of equity in participation also extends to its staffing bodies. Increasing participation and success by women in all sporting arenas have made this possible and we at RCB are very thrilled to have found great talent in Navnita,” he concluded.