After all his team-mates have packed up after their long and hectic session at their nets,one player stays behind at the Karnail Singh Stadium. The ground is almost empty,the few curious onlookers who had come to see the white-clad cricketers gone as Amol Muzumdar takes round after round along the boundary rope. Several laps later,Muzumdar makes his way to the pitch and,without a bat in his hand,begins shadow practicing. He unleashes a series of straight drives. He suddenly spots what he believes to be a wrong stroke and repeats it again in slow motion. Its behaviour expected of a youngster,one at the start of his first class career. Muzumdar,though,is a veteran of 18 seasons,winning the ranji Trophy seven times with Mumbai. At 36 Muzumdar,who holds the record for the most runs in Ranji Trophy,says staying motivated isnt a problem. All you need to have is a goal. Right now,my goal is to have fun while playing. Muzumdar,who was the next batsman waiting in the pavilion when Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli got their record partnership for Shardashram school in Mumbai,found himself unable to make it to the national squad despite scoring heavily at the domestic level. For the first five years of my Ranji career,I tried to get into the national side,for the next five years I wondered why I was not getting into the side. In the last five years,I've realised that not everyone will get a chance at the highest level,and that was when I decided to just be the best cricketer I can be. Dropped by Mumbai in their triumphant 2008/2009 season,Muzumdar shifted to Assam. As captain,he led his side to the Elite division and also became the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy. When Assam play Mumbai later in the season,there will be several emotions for Muzumdar. Yeah the thought has crossed my mind,but I guess I will get to that when it happens, he says.
