Team India batter Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur grabbed the headlines with their match-winning performances as the Women in Blue sealed the final berth of the Women's World Cup 2025 by defeating Australia at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. October 30.

Amidst all the emotions and celebrations, which were captured on and off the field, one man stood quietly in the background and celebrated the thrilling victory over Australia in the semifinal was head coach Amol Muzumdar,who finally found his moment of national glory after years of being overlooked as a player. The coach or coaching staff often do not come into the scene when the spotlight shines on the players, but for Amol, this historic triumph symbolized poetic justice.

Amol Muzumdar has played a pivotal role behind the scenes as the head coach, instilling a fearless mindset, tactical discipline, and a renewed sense of self-belief, especially after three successive losses in the league stage that once threatened to derail India's World Cup campaign.

Domestic Stalwart Who Never Got His India Cap

Before becoming the head coach of the Indian women's team. Amol Muzumdar was a well-known name in Indian domestic cricket. He was one of the prolific run-scorers in domestic cricket, especially Ranji Trophy, where he piled up a mountain of runs, exceeding 11,000 runs. Majority of his domestic career, Amol represented the Mumbai team from 1993 to 2009 before playing for Assam from 2009 to 2011 and then Arunachal Pradesh from 2012 to 2013.

The young Mumbai batting prodigy had a memorable first-class debut in the 1993 Ranji Trophy match against Haryana, wherein he scored 260 off just 341 balls, announcing his arrival with a record-breaking innings, which was then the highest individual score on Ranji Trophy debut. Interestingly, Amol Muzumdar was one of the witnesses to Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli's recording 664-run partnership in the Harris Shield Tournament, as he was next in to bat but never got a chance to take the crease.

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Over the 16 seasons in domestic cricket, Amol Muzumdar was the backbone of Mumbai's batting lineup, accumulating runs season after season, but an India call-up never came. The contemporaries, including his former Mumbai teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly, all went on to become the legends of Indian cricket, and Amol remained the unluckiest of the lot. Forget about getting an India cap, Amol never made it to the national squad for a single series or a tour.

Amol Muzumdar joined the list of players, including the likes of Rajinder Goel, Padmakar Shivalkar, Yere Goud, Amarjit Kaypee, Mithun Manhas, Ranadeb Bose, and others, who dedicated their entire careers to domestic cricket but never got an opportunity to represent India. Amol was once the highest run-getter in the history of the Ranji Trophy, amassing 9,202 at an average of 51 in 200 innings.

The Mumbai batting stalwart has a brilliant record in first-class cricket, amassing 11167 runs, including 30 centuries and 60 fifties, at an average of 48.13 in 171 matches.

Amol Fulfilling His Destiny with Team India

Before being appointed as the head coach of the Indian women's team, Amol Muzumdar served as the head coach of the Mumbai team, leading them in the 2021-22 domestic season. Under his guidance, Mumbai reached the final of the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy season, but lost to Madhya Pradesh.

Mumbai had a disappointing campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as they failed to qualify for the knockout. However, Muzumdar continued as Mumbai head coach in the following domestic season before he stepped down in order to take up the role as coach of the Indian women's team in 2023.

In October 2023, Amol Muzumdar had his true calling when he took charge as India women's head coach, fulfilling his lifelong dream of serving Indian cricket even though destiny chose a different path for him to wear the India badge.

Writing his Own Story without Playing a Ball

Amol Muzumdar has inched closer to realizing his dream he once chased as a player, bringing glory for Team India on the world stage. He could not fulfill that dream with a bat in his hand, but the legendary Mumbai batter has a chance to script from the dugout, guiding the Indian women's team to glory once eluded him.

Head coach Amol Muzumdar guided the Indian women's team to their third World Cup final, wherein they take on South Africa in the title at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 2. As Women in Blue reach the final, they will look to put their best foot forward to end their long-awaited dream of lifting the World Cup title.

What was Amol Muzumdar's message in the mid-innings? Find out from the #TeamIndia Head Coach himself as he sums up a surreal night Get your #CWC25 tickets now: #WomenInBlue | #INDvAUS twitter/5fISiTfbbk

- BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 31, 2025

Amol Muzumdar is now just a step or a win away from fulfilling the dream that once eluded him as a player, bringing World Cup glory to India, this time as a head coach women's team. In doing so, the domestic stalwart will etch his name in Indian cricket history in his own remarkable way.

From almost India to coach of the Indian women's team, Amol Muzumdar has finally scripted India's story that once destiny denied him, not with the bat but from the dugout and dressing room, leading a new generation to glory once he had long dreamt of.

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