Amol Muzumdar: Coach who never played for India leads women to World Cup ‘Chak De! India’ glory

When Shah Rukh Khan yelled “Chak De!” on the field, it wasn’t a battle cry for a team. It called for a redemption. For millions of us, ‘Chak De! India’ was a story of how determination can turn underdogs into champions. Little did anyone know that a real-life version of Kabir Khan was quietly shaping India’s sporting destiny on the cricket pitch rather than the hockey field. His name is Amol Anil Muzumdar. And in 2025, he led the Indian women’s cricket team to their first-ever ICC Women’s ODI World Cup win.

Born in 1974 in Mumbai, the childhood of Muzumdar revolved around cricket and Shivaji Park. This ground has produced legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. As a boy, he shared nets with these prodigies under the watchful eyes of the legendary coach Ramakant Achrekar.

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Fate seemed to tease him early. He was padded up as the next batsman when Tendulkar and Kambli produced their historic 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield game. Cricket whispered promise in his ear but destiny had a long wait in store.

Amol soon became the backbone of Mumbai’s domestic cricket. Over a period of more than two decades, he went on to amass a staggering 11,167 runs in first-class cricket at an average above 48, making him the second highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy history. Yet despite this consistency, the Indian cap never came.

 

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Many would have crumbled under such disappointment, but Muzumdar’s approach was different. “Cricket gave me everything, except the cap,” he once reflected. Rather than being despondent about the heartbreak, he simply absorbed it.

After retiring in 2014, coaching became his calling. He started mentoring domestic sides like Mumbai and Andhra, and subsequently took up IPL assignments with Rajasthan Royals.

Also Read: INDIA WOMEN CREATE HISTORY, WIN FIRST-EVER CRICKET WORLD CUP

It wasn’t until 2023 that Muzumdar’s life took a turn that seemed to be lifted from a Bollywood script: being anointed head coach of the Indian women’s national cricket team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Eyebrows were raised, after all, because he had never played international cricket. But like Kabir Khan, walking into a room of doubtful players, Muzumdar proved undeterred.

The team he inherited was a constellation of stars: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma. But brilliance on paper didn’t guarantee harmony on the field. Confident, talented, and ambitious, the players were like 16 fiery stars circling in different orbits rather like the unruly hockey players in ‘Chak De! India’.

What Muzumdar did was simple yet profound: instead of attempting to change the team, he empowered them. He built trust, encouraged leadership, and infused the squad with one single, clear message: “We finish well. That’s who we are.”

The 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup got underway with a few stumbles. India suffered batting collapses and dropped catches that made critics question the team’s chances. But Muzumdar’s approach mirrored that calm resilience. No shouting. No theatrics. Just a quiet belief that steadied nerves.

The story reached its crescendo in that final against South Africa. Every ball bowled, every run scored carried with it the weight of dreams deferred and years of unseen effort. India emerged victorious. And, the image of Muzumdar standing at the sidelines with arms folded, eyes moist, became iconic. This triumph was poetic justice.