Who is Amol Muzumdar? Indian team head coach, the unsung hero of Women's ODI World Cup-winning campaign

It was a night full of emotions and euphoria as India lifted the Women’s ODI World Cup for the first time under Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy, having beaten South Africa in the final on Sunday (Nov 2). Playing at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, the Indian team had multiple heroes on the field during the tournament, who played key roles in the nation going all the way and emerging victorious. However, one name that remained off the field but played a pivotal role in the World Cup-winning campaign was head coach Amol Muzumdar. So who is Muzumdar and why is his contribution remains important?

Amol Muzumdar – Unsung hero of India’s campaign

One of the legends of Indian domestic cricket, Muzumdar represented Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh and Assam in the domestic circuit. However, his career truly excelled while representing Mumbai, where he won multiple Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy titles. Muzumdar was padded up and next man in for Shardashram English school when Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli had their world-record 664-run partnership.

On his Ranji debut for Mumbai, the now 50-year-old scored an unbeaten 260 runs, shining in the domestic circuits during the 1990s. It was not until 2007 that Muzumdar was given the honour to lead Mumbai in domestic cricket as he excelled to help his side win the Ranji Trophy despite a poor start.

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The right-hand batter would score 11167 runs in First Class cricket in 171 matches, with an unbeaten 260 being his best. He played in 113 List A matches with 3286 runs, highlighting his role as a good middle-order asset. In 2009, Muzumdar moved to Assam and would later spend time with Andhra Pradesh before announcing retirement from his active playing career in 2014.

Unfortunate international career

Despite sharing a dressing room with some of the prominent names in Indian cricket like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, Muzumdar failed to crack the code and play international cricket. He was the captain of the India A side in 1994, where both Ganguly and Dravid were part of. However, he missed out on playing international cricket despite shining in the domestic circuit.

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Shot at redemption

Despite having no international portfolio, the BCCI entrusted Muzumdar to take charge of the Indian women’s team. He was appointed head coach of the Indian team in October 2023, a move that would change the landscape of Indian women’s cricket. In just two years, Indian women’s cricket would reach its pinnacle as they won the Women’s ODI World Cup for the first time with Harmanpreet as captain and Muzumdar leading from the back as the head coach.