Domestic tiger’s giant strides

Coaches donrsquot score runs Donrsquot claim wickets Pouch no catches either They have no control over what happens on the field of play Yet they are hailed or ridiculed after triumphs or disasters And for good reason because they play a key role in strategising and charting out plans to plot the oppositionrsquos downfallThe latest example of a head coach getting kudos is Amol Muzumdar The former Mumbai captain who is second on the list of rungetters in Ranji Trophy history with 9202 runs behind Wasim Jafferrsquos 12038 found his calling in coaching and has been the womenrsquos team coach since 2023Among his several coaching assignments this one has brought him everlasting fame This has thrilled his admirers and vindicated all those who had no doubts that he had the cricketing nous to forge winning combinations in teams he coachedThe sea got choppy at the World Cup At one stage India lost three games on the bounce mdash to South Africa Australia and EnglandIndiarsquos victorious captain Harmanpreet Kaur indicated after Sundayrsquos triumph that Muzumdar read the riot act post the inexplicable loss to England and one can imagine how straighttalking Muzumdar would have been at Indore following the fourrun lossThe outside noise was palpable Australiarsquos overall World Cup domination notwithstanding it was Indiarsquos cup to win on home turf Muzumdar may have been only one of the factors to spark the flames of revival but itrsquos safe to say it was a big oneRevivals he has seen aplenty Domestic cricketrsquos battlescarred veteran started his firstclass journey at a time when Mumbai turned the corner post an eightseason lull 198586 to 199293 in the Ranji Trophy He felt he should have played firstclass cricket earlier than 199394 But when he got his chance in the prequarterfinal against Haryana at Faridabad of that season he pitched his tent for a big inningsWalking in to bat at 472 the 19yearold middleorder batsman went on to carve 260 on debut Mumbai ended up becoming champions and Muzumdar became a regular to the point of him being talked about as an India probableHe didnrsquot get that muchsoughtafter Test cap but he learnt his lessons from some of the finest to wear Test colours Before his first Ranji Trophy captain Ravi Shastri there was Sandeep Patil the erstwhile India dasher who led Muzumdar at Cricket Club of India and SunGrace MafatlalMuzumdar told me during my Mumbai cricket podcast how he looked up to Patil as an inspiration as a mentor He took on board Patilrsquos wellmeaning yet irksome challenge before Muzumdarrsquos Times Shield lsquoArsquo division debut for SunGrace Mafatlal in 1992 ldquoAnybody can get a hundred Make a double hundred and show merdquo A determined Muzumdar had a point to prove but he was dismissed by Western Railwayrsquos offspinner Hitesh Popat for 97 Muzumdar recalled Patil saying on his tearful return to the dressing room ldquoDum nahin hainhellip kya karegardquoIn 16 monthsrsquo time Muzumdar got the chance to prove Patil wrong with that 260Muzumdar appreciated the fact that he learnt the hard way from ldquohardnosed cricketersrdquo Patil was one Shastri was another Karsan Ghavri the Mumbai team manager in 199394 also fell into that category and so did Dilip Vengsarkar and Kenia Jayantilal his senior at MB Union CC Cross MaidanShastri sent Muzumdar a message five days before his debut that he would be in the playing XI and would bat at No 4 When the going got tough on the turning Faridabad track Shastri walked up to him and said ldquoThe first ton is always the hardest to get so stay there and get it no matter how long it takes Donrsquot throw it awayrdquoBack to the womenrsquos World Cup Indiarsquos midtournament turbulence could well have resulted in disaster But the team and head coach walked the talk where belief was concerned There were inspirational figures within the team There was ability There was optimism which admittedly can be hard to embrace in a crisis And there was the magical aspect of sport where the amalgamation of ability spirit and confidence meets destiny That came to the fore in the recent semifinal against Australia where India pulled off an incredible winThe coach in his own way knew that the best team in the world could be conqueredApart from being part of eight Mumbai Ranji Trophy triumphs he was in a Mumbai team that demolished Australia by 10 wickets inside three days in the visitorsrsquo tour game on their 199798 tour of India During his innings of 42 then he smashed Shane Warne for three fours and the master legspinner was reminded of that sequence when both were involved as part of the coaching roster at Rajasthan RoyalsMuzumdar has come a long way since his 260 for Bombay in 199394 made him the highest individual scorer on debut in firstclass cricketThere were highs lows controversies selfdoubt and the urge to give up the game in 2002 His father Anil allowed him to entertain those thoughts but insisted he live up to his club commitment in EnglandThe opening of a gate at his UK accommodation after the drive from Manchester airport gave him the feeling that the gate to a new chapter of his cricketing life was opening too through the Bishop Auckland CC stint It did and he played 12 more years of firstclass cricket before retiring in 201314A gate has probably opened again for Muzumdar to enjoy and soak in the fact that you donrsquot have to play for your country to be part of a historic moment in your countryrsquos sporting historymiddayrsquos Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper