 "India captain Harmanpreet Kaur touches Amol Muzumdar's feet after winning the title. Image: AFP")
As the Indian women’s team celebrated their first-ever ICC Women’s ODI World Cup title on Sunday night in Navi Mumbai, one man quietly stood in the background watching history unfold - head coach Amol Muzumdar.
While the players were hailed as heroes, Muzumdar’s role in helping this team win their maiden ICC title was also crucial. The Mumbai-born cricketer, once known as the unluckiest man never to play for India, finally found his redemption as the mastermind behind a World Cup-winning campaign.
A domestic legend who never played for India
Muzumdar was trained at Sharadashram Vidyamandir, the same school that produced Sachin Tendulkar. He was a gifted batter from beginning and made a dream start to his first-class career with a world-record 260 not out on Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in 1993-94.
Over two decades, Muzumdar scored 11,167 first-class runs at an average of 48.13, with 30 centuries to his name. He led Mumbai to multiple Ranji Trophy triumphs, including their 37th title in 2006-07. But despite his brilliance, the then Indian batting lineup of Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly made it difficult for him to break into the national side.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe rebirth as a coach
After retiring in 2014, Muzumdar turned to coaching. He worked with India’s U-19 and U-23 teams as a mentor and served as batting coach of Rajasthan Royals from 2018 to 2020. He even had a stint with the men’s South African team during their India tour in 2018.
In October 2023, he was appointed head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. Muzumdar’s approach soon transformed the Indian dressing room culture. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that the former Mumbai cricketer brought much-needed stability to the team after frequent changes in the coaching staff had made it difficult for them to move forward.
“Sir’s contribution in the last two and a half years has been amazing. A lot changed in our dressing room after his arrival. Before that, coaches were changing frequently; we didn’t know how to bring things forward. But after Sir came, everything became stable and smooth. He gets a lot of credit for building this team,” Harmanpreet said after winning the trophy.
India suffered three early losses in the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, but Muzumdar stood by his players, urging them to play fearless cricket. The turnaround came in the knockout stages as they stunned Australia in the semifinal followed by the 52-run victory over South Africa in the final.
“I’m speechless. Absolutely proud. They deserve every bit of this moment. The hard work, the belief — they’ve made every Indian proud,” the coach said after the win.