Cricket: Amol Muzumdar appointed head coach of the Indian women’s team

Amol Muzumdar will take over as the Indian women’s cricket head coach, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Wednesday.

Mazumdar has served as the head coach of the Mumbai Ranji team till the 2022–2023 domestic campaign. He has also held coaching positions with the South African national team and IPL team Rajasthan Royals.

A domestic titan, he scored over 11,000 first-class runs in 171 matches including 30 centuries during his 21-year playing career. He also featured in over 100 List A games and 14 T20 matches. He won several Ranji Trophy titles with Mumbai and later represented Assam and Andhra Pradesh.

In December, Ramesh Powar was removed as part of a BCCI internal restructuring, leaving the position of head coach for India vacant. Since then, former India all-rounder Hrishikesh Kanitkar had been in-charge of the squad.

The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjpe and Sulakshana Naik had to choose between Muzumdar, former Durham coach Jon Lewis and former head coach Tushar Arothe.

The Indian women’s cricket team won a historic gold at the Asian Games in the absence of a head coach. Now, Muzumdar will be expected to guide the team to an elusive ICC title in Bangladesh next year where the T20 World Cup will be hosted as well as the 50-over World Cup in India in 2025.

“I am deeply honoured and privileged to be appointed as the Head Coach of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team. I thank the CAC and the BCCI for placing their trust in me and believing in my vision and the roadmap for Team India,” said Muzumdar.

“This is a huge responsibility and I look forward to working closely with talented players and providing them with the right preparation and guidance to excel. The next two years are extremely important as two World Cups are scheduled in the period. Together with the coaching and support staff, we will look to tick every box and give ourselves the best chance to succeed.”