As brand ambassador at a glitzy event in the city, while receiving the first copy of the twin-volumes trumpeting the victorious Indian Premier League season of the Deccan Chargers, Saina Nehwal is right at home.

Behind the confident visage as she gets mobbed by the media and fans, though, the girl is still getting used to this new starring and mildly glamorous role. “It’s very tough — this association with a cricket team, since I’ve always urged people to look beyond cricket. Now I’m here representing an IPL team, and it’s all very different,” she says, adding that she’s a little clueless.

“But this association will be very good for badminton, many more people will now take interest in my sport. It’s the right time to be connected with this IPL team,” says the only non-cricket brand ambassador of an IPL franchise.

The 19-year-old shuttler’s cricket connection till now usually comprised of pointed opinions voicing the frustrations of non-cricket athletes. “I rarely get time to watch full matches. But I followed the early winning run of the Chargers at the beginning of IPL this time. Of course, at that time the interest was because it was a Hyderabad team, and I liked watching Adam Gilchrist,” she says honestly.

“If I had to play cricket, I’d only hit wildly when batting. I can’t bowl and all,” she jests, adding on a serious note that she admires the stamina-reserves of cricketers who play for long durations. “Stamina’s the one thing I like in them as athletes, and I know its importance in badminton as well,” the 19-year-old says. Professing her admiration for Sachin Tendulkar, the shuttler says it’s a temperament worth emulating to the last mannerism. “In all these years, I’ve never seen him lose his temper on the field. It’s tremendous,” she says.

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