Mumbai: As he gets into his new role as the head coach of the Indian senior women’s cricket team, Amol Muzumdar is in for a baptism by fire as the team plays back-to-back series against England and Australia in the next month or so.
England are up first with a three-match T20I series at the Wankhese Stadium with the first match on Wednesday followed by a one-off Test at the D.Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Australia will take the field next for the Test match at Wankhede followed by a Test, three ODIs and three T20Is against Australia later this month.
The bigger tests for Muzumdar will be the two World Cups that India will be playing during his tenure — the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024 and the ODI World Cup at home in 2025.
Many people thought that the first challenge for him was the transition from men’s cricket to women’s cricket as his past experiences as a coach include working as a development coach with the Rajasthan Royals and in the Netherlands as a club cricketer. He was also the chief coach of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team for a couple of years since 2021.
But Muzumdar said the transition from men’s to women’s cricket was not a big issue for him.
“I think the conditions are the same. It’s just that a few things that alter a little bit. But at the same time, you know, if you look at the Indian team at the moment, I think we are well equipped and mentally they are extremely strong. And I’m looking forward to, you know, for the season, as I said, and also, you know, I think cricket is the same. Cricket is absolutely the same.
“So you know, there’s no difference between men’s cricket that much and women’s cricket. I think I’m, I’m pretty sure that if you ask anyone in the team they they’re looking forward to it. And I don’t think if you ask them they’ll say there isn’t any change in cricket. Cricket is the same,” said Muzumdar.
The 49-year-old Mumbai legend said that the back-to-back series against England and Australia will be stepping stones in India’s preparations for the two ICC World Cups.
“The focus will be on the World Cup, definitely. We’re moving towards the World Cup. And I feel that every series, every match will have its own importance. And the series against England and the one against Australia will count a lot. So you know we’ve had a chat about it with the team and they’re all looking forward to the season and raring to go. So I think every step that we take is moving towards the World Cup,” said Muzumdar, who termed the upcoming assignments as big challenges for his players.
In the upcoming twin series, he will have Troy Cooley as the bowling coach and Munish Bali as the fielding coach.
–IANS