Amol Muzumdar's masterclass: How the coach guided India to World Cup glory

While the Indian women’s team was busy clicking pictures and planning their celebration before receiving the ICC World Cup Trophy from the glittering dais at DY Patil Stadium yesterday evening, coach Amol Muzumdar was finding a jersey of his size bearing a special mention ‘World Champions’ meant for this particular moment.

His journey from being a player to a World Cup-winning coach is a pure example of ‘patience does pay in the end’. Even Indian skipper Harmanpreet couldn’t resist saying that before Amol took the task; there were many coaches who came and went, but he made sure the team acted as a ‘team’.

Carrying a smile, waving the national flag, and jumping like a 16-year-old cricketer who won his first tournament, Amol described his team’s win as a change in Indian cricket history—stressing that this was not only for Indian women’s cricket but overall.

“This win will bring a massive change in Indian cricket, not only in women’s cricket but overall,” explained Amol after taking a little time from the celebrations.

“This team went through a grilling for almost two years. The execution of plans was never easy, but they made sure to find their top strength,” he added.

As soon as Indian skipper Harmanpreet took the last catch, his eyes were up in the sky before he saw players running onto the field and followed them towards the center pitch. “I was numb. I just looked at the sky, and the moment my eyes matched the level of the ground...everyone was inside. And, I took no further action but to join the girls. It was a mix of emotions, relief inside and joy outside,” he expressed. When asked if he regretted not playing for India despite having a dream run in his younger days, he just replied, “Arey yar, aisa kuch nahi hai...mai hero thodi hu (There’s nothing of that sort, I am not a hero),” laughed the coach.

It was in 1988 when he ended up padded for two days when Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli set the famous world record for the highest partnership. Though he will now be remembered as India’s World Cup-winning coach, he was not an average player during his stint with Mumbai.

He scored 11,167 runs (30 centuries) in first-class cricket with an average of 48.13 for Mumbai. His achievements as a player go deeper, as he vice-captained the India U-19 in 1994 and was an important part of the India ‘A’ setup. He scored 260 runs on his first-class debut, going beyond GR Vishwanath (230), and captained the Mumbai Ranji Trophy-winning team—and was part of Mumbai’s eight title wins. In 2021, he announced his retirement after a 21-year glorious career that never saw him wearing the Blues.

He was also a part of the India U-19 and U-23 coaching staff and had worked as a batting consultant for the Netherlands cricket team. Amol took the Indian team’s charge in October 2023, at a difficult time when the era of women’s cricket remained between Ramesh Powar and WV Raman.

“I am speechless...it was a really emotional moment watching the girls in tears, dancing, planning to get the trophy...it is not usual to see in reality. They made every Indian proud,” he added. When asked about Shafali Verma’s inclusion as a bowler, he explained, “It was Harman’s call to give her the call, but she was very much in the plans. We were tracking her domestic outings, and she had bowled in the T20s as well. The way it was executed was amazing,” he said. When asked about Harman’s expression of his fury after India’s loss to England in the league stage, he laughed and maintained it was the need of the time.

“Ask me what I would tell them now after winning the World Cup title,” laughed Amol, who is turning 51 next week.