Loksatta Gappa | Keep scoring runs, your opportunity will come: Amol Muzumdar on having no regret to have not played for international men’s cricket

Muzumdar is regarded as a quintessential product of Mumbai’s maidan cricket culture, mentored by the late Ramakant Achrekar.

Amol Muzumdar recalled his journey from being a famously ‘khadoos’ Mumbai cricketer to becoming the coach who led the Indian women’s cricket team to a historic World Cup title. (Express Photo by Akash Patil)

STATING THAT his love for the sport always outweighed the ambition to wear the India cap, Amol Muzumdar—the head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team that recently won the ICC World Cup—said he had no regret about never having played international cricket for the Indian men’s cricket team,

Speaking at the Loksatta Gappa programme in Mumbai’s Bandra on Saturday, Muzumdar said, “I never felt disappointed (for not playing international cricket for India). I often asked myself why I started playing cricket. It’s because I loved batting, I loved scoring runs…whether it was office cricket, club cricket or Mumbai cricket. Wherever I played, I built my own world.”

Regarded as a quintessential product of Mumbai’s maidan cricket culture and mentored by the late Ramakant Achrekar, Muzumdar recalled his journey from being a famously ‘khadoos’ Mumbai cricketer to becoming the coach who led the Indian women’s cricket team to a historic World Cup title, an achievement that marked a landmark moment for women’s cricket in the country.

Muzumdar spoke candidly about the challenges and milestones of his two-year stint as head coach of the women’s side, especially the preparation and pressure leading up to the World Cup. He also revisited his personal cricketing arc—beginning from school tournaments to the grind of Mumbai cricket and the uphill climb to secure a place in the Ranji side. He remembered his father’s words during difficult phases, “Keep scoring runs; your opportunity will come.”

Recalling his first meeting with the women’s team, he said, “When I took over as coach two years ago, I asked the players in our very first meeting.. What’s your goal? Every single one of them said, ‘To win the World Cup.’ We achieved that. But this is only the beginning… we want to build further on this journey,” he said.

On missing out on a place in the Indian men’s cricket team despite prolific domestic numbers, Muzumdar said the competition at the time was extraordinary. “There were players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. They played over 120 Tests together. Breaking into that batting line-up was extremely difficult,” he said.

The event, presented by Northern Realty with Kesari Tours and Meyer Vitabiotics as co-sponsors and supported by ONGC, MK Ghare Jewellers and Haware Properties, featured a conversation led by Loksatta Resident Editors Siddharth Khandekar (Mumbai) and Siddharth Kelkar (Pune). Kunal Rege anchored the programme, while Loksatta Editor Girish Kuber delivered the introductory remarks. The audience included prominent voices from cricket, theatre and the corporate world.