The year 2023 has been quite special for the Indian women cricketers and their fans as the Board of Control for Cricket in India conducted the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League which has brought a revolution in the women’s cricket world and it will surely play an important role in the growth of the Indian women cricket.
The Indian women cricketers are already quite popular among the cricket fans all over the world and they know how to deal with the pressure in different situations but still there are times when they also need to be counseled and motivated. For this purpose, the team management usually appoints professional motivators/coaches or former cricketers but there have been couple of instances when the team management has appointed non-cricketers as mentors for guiding the teams and one such instance took place in the recently concluded WPL.
Let us tell you about two such instances when non-cricketers have been appointed for the role of mentors in the IPL and the WPL:
1. Sania Mirza (Mentor of RCB in the WPL 2023):
Sania Mirza is certainly one of the most popular sports celebs of the country and she is an inspiration to many women. She is a former professional tennis player who has won many titles and has made the country proud. Sania Mirza was one of the most influential athletes of the country and there is no denying the fact that she is a very strong-willed and determined woman who has overcome a number of tough situations in life to achieve success.
In the WPL 2023 which was the first season of the tournament, Royal Challengers Bangalore appointed Sania Mirza as the mentor of the team in hope to get the benefit of Sania’s experience. However, things didn’t go as planned for RCB and despite having a strong squad, the Bangalore franchise ended up at the 4th position out of 5 teams as it lost 6 matches out of 8 matches.
The WPL 2023 was won by Mumbai Indians after it defeated Delhi Capitals in the finals.
2. Mike Horn (Mentor of KKR in the IPL 2014):
Mike Horn is South African mountaineer and a motivational speaker who has a huge experience of working with various teams. He was a part of the Indian cricket team’s staff in the year 2011 when team India won the 2011 ICC World Cup under MS Dhoni’s leadership. Mike Horn also worked with the German football team in 2014 and in the same year, Germany won the FIFA World Cup.
In 2014, Mike Horn also worked with the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders and helped the team in lifting the trophy for the second time. Gautam Gambhir-led KKR team started the IPL 2014 in a very disappointing manner as it lost 5 out of its first 7 matches and everyone felt that KKR would not be able to make it to the playoffs even but the team made a mighty comeback by winning all the remaining 7 matches and then it also won the trophy after defeating CSK in the finals.
Mentors can really have a big impact on the players and the team, agree?