In great news for the Indian team, the BCCI appointed former cricketer Amol Muzumdar as the new Head Coach of the Senior Women’s team.
As a player, Muzumdar had an illustrious domestic career with 11167 runs in 171 First Class matches at an average of 48.13, 3286 runs in 113 List A matches at an average of 38.20, and 174 runs in 14 T20s at an average of 19.33. He also has coaching experience and has held positions in the IPL team Rajasthan Royals, South African National Team, and Mumbai Ranji team.
Muzumdar will be taking over from Ramesh Powar. Powar was removed from the position in December 2022 as part of BCCI’s “restructuring module”. Since then Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been handling the role in an interim capacity. Under his guidance, the team played a home white ball series against Australia, a tri-series, the T20 World Cup, and the Asian Games. While the team lost the semi-final of the World Cup, they won their first gold in their maiden Asiad appearance.
Muzumdar has his task cut out for him with his first assignment being a home multi-format series against England and Australia. However, coaches and players who have worked with him believe that he is the best for the job. Former cricketer Reema Malhotra believes that Muzumdar should be given time to settle into the role and understand the mindset of the players and their game.
She said, “To become a women’s team coach, one should understand the women’s game first. The mentality of the female cricketers. Honestly, at that level you don’t require coaching actually, all you require is people management and how you deal with the seniors as well as the juniors especially in this particular time. This is a transition period where we have less number of seniors in comparison to juniors. Basically, it’s a young team and you will have to handle it with care, keeping in mind the things that have happened in the past. So, that is the learning thing.”
Players who have interacted with Muzumdar have said that he creates a healthy work environment and constantly motivates the players to do better. Former player Gursharan Singh said, “I have interacted with Amol 2-3 times. The feedback I get from the kids who have played under him, they say that he is someone who motivates the players a lot. He has one-to-one interactions with the players. Apart from that he keeps the players in discipline and works on their weaknesses.
“The players are very comfortable around him and get to learn a lot from him. He works on the mindset of the players. The kind of experience he has is immense and is very helpful for the players around. He has the idea of playing in different situations. So, he is the right man for the players who can learn a lot from him. I just wish him luck and hope the women’s team which is doing well at the moment reaches new heights under him.”
Team India is currently on a high after their successful campaign in the Asian Games. It will be interesting to see how the players perform under his guidance and how the team’s performance evolves.
(Quotes sourced from News18)
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