India’s challenging home season against England and Australia is set to begin with a T20I series against England. Ahead of their campaign starting, head coach Amol Muzumdar has spoken about the preparations of the team, his aim to have high standards of fielding and fitness and to ultimately play a fearless brand of cricket.
In recent tours, fielding has been a concern for India and thus steps have been taken to match the athletic brilliance of teams like Australia. Earlier this year, 30 “targeted players” were selected for an intense camp in Bangalore to improve fielding and fitness. Muzumdar is looking to continue this.
He has made it clear that under his coaching tenure, there will be no compromise on fielding and fitness. Specific parameters have been established and the team will be expected to follow them.
“Fielding and fitness are of the highest priority. There is no compromise on fielding or fitness. There will be a lot of camps post this series — a lot of cricket will be played — at NCA or some other place. That means more exposure. All the fringe and new players will also get an opportunity” he said.
Newly appointed coach Amol Muzumdar has his eyes set on Women's World Cup next year in 2024.#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/tmsxVpupjH
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 5, 2023
He also advocated for the team to adopt a “fearless brand” of cricket ahead of the World Cup next year. “We need to play a certain brand of cricket, which we have been known for so far. Fearless cricket is something which I have always advocated. We would be playing that brand of cricket” he said.
Further, he spoke about how Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues have adopted that approach and how he would like them to continue that. “Shafali (Verma) and Jemimah (Rodrigues) are both very important cog in the wheel. I would like them to continue what they have been doing.”
With the World Cup scheduled to begin September – October next year, every series will be crucial for the team. Muzumdar said that the upcoming series will be a great source of preparation and will “count a lot.” While the matches will be challenging, he believes that they will give the team an indication of their current preparedness level.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar backs Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues to play their fearless brand of cricket! #CricketTwitter #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/S1frHTZGZU
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 5, 2023
He said, “We are moving towards the goal. We had a chat about it with the team and they are all raring to go. Every step that we take (here on) is (about) moving towards the World Cup.”
Vaishnavi is a passionate author with an unwavering love for cricket, particularly women’s cricket. Her writing reflects her deep admiration for the sport and her dedication to promoting women’s participation in it. When she’s not following the latest cricket matches, Vaishnavi can be found engrossed in books or enjoying movies.