Reports: Amol Muzumdar front-runner to be Indian women's team head coach

According to reports, former Mumbai coach Amol Muzumdar is the front-runner to be the next Indian women’s cricket team head coach. Muzumdar applied for the vacant role after BCCI invited applications for the position earlier this month. The Indian team has been playing without a head coach since Ramesh Powar was moved to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in December 2022.

The BCCI invited applications for potential candidates and put down a few criteria for their next coach with no age bar for the role. The candidate must’ve represented India or any other country at the international level or should have a minimum NCA Level ‘C’ certification for a coach or a similar certification from a reputed organisation/Institute with a minimum of 50 first-class games.

The candidate should also have the experience of coaching an international team for a period of a minimum of 1 season or a T20 franchise for a minimum of 2 seasons. A thorough understanding of the game or playing/coaching experience at the highest level and experience of leading a multi-cultural team was desired.

Muzumdar has vast experience of coaching as he was a part of the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and has also earlier coached at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). During his tenure, Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, however, he didn’t apply for the Mumbai senior side this year.

The 48-year-old has also worked as a batting consultant for South Africa during their tour to India in 2019. The former Mumbai player is one of the legends of Indian domestic cricket as he scored 11,167 first-class runs at an average of 48.13.

Players will have a major say in who gets to be the coach

According to a report in the Indian Express, the BCCI is looking for someone who could build a strong Indian women’s team and give good direction to the team. The head coach is also expected to determine the standards of fitness and high performance of NCA and further make sure that the women’s national team complies with the same.

When Powar was moved to the NCA, the spotlight was shifted to the players of the team, who have a major say in deciding who gets to coach them.