ENG-W vs IND-W 2025: WPL has been an integral part of player progress: Amol Muzumdar

India Women's head coach Amol Muzumdar has credited the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for significantly influencing the mindset and mentality of Indian players. The Indian Premier League (IPL), which began in 2008, transformed the men’s white-ball setup, and noted how early exposure to high-pressure environments helped uncapped players transition smoothly from domestic to international cricket.

Though the WPL only began in 2021, Muzumdar believes its impact is already evident. Over the past 12 to 18 months, the Indian women's team has shown notable improvement, competing strongly against top sides like Australia and, most recently, securing their first-ever bilateral T20I series win in England. Muzumdar expressed optimism about the direction the team is heading in and acknowledged the rising standards of domestic cricket.

“WPL has been an integral part of the progress of the players. There's no doubt about it. But there are other tournaments as well in India which we really have a good look at it. There are so many domestic players playing,” said Muzumdar as quoted by The Week.

“WPL is just a part of the initiative of the BCCI. So, I think it's been a happy hunting ground for us, the WPL. But at the same time, there are other tournaments which also take importance,” he added.

Shree Charani, playing in her maiden T20I series for India, made an immediate impact by being named Player of the Series. The head coach heaped praise on the promising youngster and backed her to enjoy a long and successful career.

“From WPL, we identified Charani, and then I think her progress has been fantastic. She's been phenomenal in this series. We had a good look at her in the Sri Lanka series, where we played a tri-series against South Africa and Sri Lanka. So, I think she's been the find. We were searching for a left-arm spinner, and she fitted the bill perfectly,” Muzumdar said.

The former Mumbai batter acknowledged that this marked improvement was a crucial factor in India’s success. Previously, the team had been inconsistent, especially in ground fielding and catching. However, in the series against England, India’s fielding was nothing short of sensational, with sharp catching and overall athleticism.

“I think the key takeaways were our bowling. There's no doubt about it. We had a game plan before we set off from the Indian shores. We had a good camp, and we focused quite a bit on our bowling and fielding, which showed in this series. I think the biggest takeaways without a doubt have been our bowling and our fielding,” Muzumdar said.

“Having said that, batting has been our strength for a long time. A year-and-a-half that I've been in charge, I think we've played some fearless cricket as far as batting is concerned. The two departments which we wanted to take care of were bowling and fielding. And I think this series has shown the results,” he added.