Amol Muzumdar
India were knocked out in the league stage of the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups. You can have 10,000 things as a coach to tell that athlete. A year after India won their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title, beating South Africa in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 3, Muzumdar recalled the team spirit that marked the campaign.
The coach also said that a player’s willingness to learn was as important to him as their skill. Muzumdar said he was also conscious of giving players the space they needed. But whether he or she is in that time frame or the mind frame to understand what you are doing…” he said.
However, their T20I game still needs improvement. In the shortest format, the team needs to improve on many fronts. Head coach Amol Muzumdar believes India could soon have a specialist T20I squad, similar to the men’s team, with the next generation of cricketers better equipped to meet the demands of the format. Asked how soon that could become a reality, Muzumdar replied: “Not long. “I see whether he or she is receptive. If he or she is receptive, you know it from their body language. You need to learn to understand the body language of the player. Over the years, I have spent a few years in First-Class cricket, and I do understand that I can know a certain player through their body language on the ground. I try to catch those signals. There is always that correct timing of that advice that has to be given. So as a coach, you need to understand when to say, how to say and what to say,” he felt. “Sometimes you have to respect the space that the athlete wants. He credited the unity within the squad and the atmosphere in the dressing room for helping the team during the tournament.
I consider myself really lucky about it,” he said. “I had a very good time with Harman as a captain. But I’m also looking forward to the future. With utmost respect, the manner in which she conducted herself as a captain, as a skipper, was superb. I feel myself really lucky that I had that opportunity for the three years that I spent with her as a coach. I could gather the mindset of the captain… I could gather the mindset of the leader in her.