Amol's 'Chak De' moment: Redemption, resilience and a World Cup for India

Once hailed as the future of Indian cricket, Amol Muzumdar finally finds his moment of glory — not with the bat, but as the coach who led India’s women to their maiden ODI World Cup triumph.

Amol Muzumdar’s story reads like a reel-to-real version of Chak De! India. Once touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, the elegant right-hander from Mumbai scored heavily in domestic cricket but never got to wear the India cap. After years of being overlooked despite towering first-class numbers, Muzumdar’s redemption arrived from an unexpected direction — in the dugout of the Indian women’s cricket team.

The 49-year-old, who amassed 11,167 runs in 171 first-class matches at an average of 48.13, including 30 centuries and 60 half-centuries, was once considered among the finest middle-order batsmen never to have played for India. After retirement, he turned to coaching — first mentoring Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals, and later taking charge of the Indian women’s team, often called cricket’s “sleeping giant” because of its vast untapped potential.

When Muzumdar took over, the women’s team was struggling. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was under fire after a series of defeats, while the dressing room morale was at its lowest. Muzumdar, however, saw a spark. “We weren’t losing because we were poor — we were losing because we had forgotten how close we were to winning,” Mumbiker said in a post-match interview.

Together with Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-aptain Smriti Mandhana, he rebuilt the team’s mindset, instilling belief and hunger. “They had the talent; they just needed to rediscover the purpose,” he later said.

All-rounder Deepti Sharma, despite fitness struggles, rediscovered her rhythm with both bat and ball. Sneh Rana, though dropped in the final stages, made crucial early contributions. Shree Charni, the left arm find of women IPL, shone under pressure, while Radha Yadav’s electric fielding turned matches.

The tournament’s breakout stars, however, were Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh. After a shaky start, Jemimah was promoted to replace inform Harleen Deol, but the - Pocket Rocket-  phrase used for Jemimah - silenced critics with an unbeaten 127 in the semifinal against Australia, guiding India to the final. Richa, despite inconsistencies with the gloves, stood tall with the bat — her fiery 94 against South Africa in the league and a quickfire 34 off 24 balls in the final helped India post a competitive total on a crumbling DY Patil pitch.

But Muzumdar’s toughest call came before the tournament —dropping Shafali Verma, a crowd favourite, for Pratika Rawal.

Fate intervened when Pratika suffered an injury ahead of the World Cup, leading to Shafali’s recall. She repaid her coach’s faith with a match-winning knock in the final, later named Player of the Match.

A man of few words and known to be a hard taskmaster, Muzumdar admitted after the triumph that the journey had tested every ounce of resolve. “Losing three games in a row with narrow margins dented our morale,” he said. “But Harman and I knew we were inches away from something special,” said Muzumdar.

Before the final, Muzumdar took the team to DY Patil Stadium, the venue of the championship clash, and asked them to visualise lifting the World Cup. “Close your eyes,” he told them. “Imagine what it will look like, what it will feel like.” The team did — and a few days later, the vision turned to reality.

“This is a watershed moment for Indian cricket,” Muzumdar said after the victory. “It’s not just about winning a trophy; it’s about the evolution of our game. This team has shown the world what Indian women’s cricket can be,” said Muzumdar enjoying the moment of redemption and glory.