Amol Muzumdar: India Women’s coach with 11,000 runs but no international cap

The whole of India is flowing in a happy river because Harmanpreet Kaur and company finally fulfilled their dream as the India Women lifted their first ever World Cup. After losing a closing final in 2017, India finally broke the jinx and gave the country's people the ultimate happiness that they had missed during the 2023 ODI Men's World Cup.

As the World Cup was happening in India, players were immensely excited and prepared to keep the trophy in India. From Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Pratika Rawal to Richa Ghosh, Harmanpreet Kaur, every player proves their worth by giving their heart and soul in every match. Their hardwork and determination made them ‘World Champions’. 

In this journey, they won some, lost some. Every time they lost, they made a strong comeback. But in these ups and downs, one man stood tall behind the team and believed in them that they could do it was the Women’s team’s head coach, Amol Anil Muzumdar. When his and Harman’s team created history, he witnessed the moment, teary-eyed, and lived the dream not as a player but as a coach.

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Amol Muzumdar: The Man Behind the World Cup Glory:

Amol Muzumdar has been one of the most respected names in Indian cricket. He had a fantastic domestic career and had over 11000 runs in his name. Unfortunately, despite having a wonderful domestic career, he didn’t get a chance to represent the country at an international level. While growing up in Mumbai, he got training under the great coach Ramakant Achrekar, who also mentored the great Sachin Tendulkar. 

After sharing the dressing room with young Sachin Tendulkar for many years, he learned how to bat with timing and patience. In his youth, Amol showcased his potential talent, which was reflected in his domestic career. His promising greatness with the bat inspires upcoming generational talents.

Amol Muzumdar: A Promising Talent of His Time:

Amol Muzumdar started his first-class cricket at the age of 19 with an unbeaten 260. He smashed this run while debuting in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai in 1993 against Haryana. His amazing inning existed as an unbreakable record for nearly 25 years. He has been an integral part of Mumbai for almost two decades. He also played as saviour whenever the Mumbai team was in trouble. In his first-class career, he scored 11167 runs, which includes 30 centuries. 

He has been a consistent batter at no 3 and 4. He also became captain for Mumbai in 2006-07. Under his captaincy, Mumbai emerged victorious for the 37th time over Bengal. Apart from Mumbai, He was also part of the Assam and Andhra teams, respectively. In his glorious cricketing career, his only setback was not representing India at the International level as his competition was stalwarts like Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, and many more. Despite playing only first-class matches, his career was inspirational for upcoming promising talents.

Amol Muzumdar’s Glorious Coaching Journey:

In 2014, he announced his retirement from cricket. After that, he turned his attention towards coaching with the same pure intention. He coached India’s U-19 team and U-23 team. He also worked as a batting coach for Rajasthan Royals from 2018 to 2020. He also guided the South African team when they came to play a series in India in 2018. 

In 2021, he was appointed as head coach for Mumbai. As a coach, his biggest achievement was becoming the head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. After taking the responsibility, he brought discipline within the team, boosted confidence, and taught the team how to play with a tactical approach. His hardwork, determination, and honesty towards the country and team rewarded him with the World Cup victory.