KKR hire Mike Horn for IPL, the man who inspired India in 2011 World Cup

Mike Horn is a South Africa born Swiss explorer who uses his experiences to give motivational talks to sportspersons around the world

The man famous for inspiring the Indian cricket team during the 2011 World Cup, Mike Horn has now joined Kolkata Knight Riders for a short stint before the start of IPL 2014.

The South Africa-born Swiss adventurer had been invited by the then India coach Gary Kirsten, and had given inspirational talks to the team which by players’ own admission, helped them tremendously in the tournament.

Horn’s claim to fame was his solo journey around Earth’s equator in 2000 without any motor transport, for which he was awarded the prestigious Laureus World Alternative Sportsperson of the Year Award in 2001. In 2006, Horn and Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland became the first men to travel to North Pole without dog or motorised transport during the Arctic months which are shrouded in permanent darkness.

He now shares his experiences with sportsmen around the world, giving motivational talks to athletes from various sports, along with people involved in challenging work like deep sea drilling.

Horn has previously worked with Mumbai Indians in 2012 IPL

KKR have a new look team this season, having retained only skipper Gautam Gambhir and spinner Sunil Narine from their previous squad. Their CEO Venky Mysore realises the importance of team building and motivation for players at this stage, and seeks Horn’s help for the job.

“Our objective right now with Mike Horn is that he helps out with the integration of the team, since we have a fairly new team this time. The team building exercises, team bonding and of course the motivational side of it. Though he is coming for a very short burst, partly because of his availability, we will have him for four-five days leading up to the first game,” Venky told ESPNcricinfo.

“The bigger motivation of getting Mike Horn this season was that he has done a lot of work with athletes in general and sports teams, not just cricket. He is very familiar with this zone. And I also got very good endorsement on him from some of the players. It was very encouraging to look at someone like him for our team,” he added.

Apart from his much talked about work with the Indian cricket team, Horn has worked with Mumbai Indians in IPL in 2012 and also helped South Africa before their tour of England which they won 2-0 in 2012 and became the No.1 Test team in the world.

Having moved home to South Africa after winning the World Cup with India in 2011, Kirsten again invited Horn to work with the Proteas, and the team then went to an expedition in Alps prior to the England tour. The results were evident.