Amol Muzumdar's cricketing career: An ordeal like no other

Sachin Tendulkar and Amol Muzumdar (R)

The onlookers associate cricket in India with glamour and stardom. We, the fans, intensely love our national cricketers and even regard some of them as divinely. The cult position of our cricketers is fiercely begrudged by their international counterparts.

However, in a country like India which is blessed with an abundance of talent, one not only needs to be good but also to be extremely fortunate to break into the national squad. Needless to say, every cricketer in our country dreams of donning the Indian cap one day; however, not all those dreams are realized. Certainly, Amol Muzumdar falls under that cateogory. He strived hard for it. He deserved it, beyond question. He was patient. He waited, and waited, and was eternally kept waiting. The opportunity, well, never arrived.

This Mumbai maestro could do no wrong with the bat in hand. He was consistent and scored bucketloads of runs, only to be overlooked all through his playing days. If excellence and supremacy in Ranji trophy counts for anything, then the protagonist of this piece has every reason to be upset and frustrated about.

Shardashram Vidyamandir school is well known in the cricketing circles for having produced many a cricketing gem. Representing the school in a Harris Shield match, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli combined well to forge the then world record partnership of 664 runs, a feat far famed. What isn’t far famed is the fact that Muzumdar was a part of the team and was waiting in the dugout, listed to bat next. This incident, ironically yet sadly, defines his cricketing career.

Amol Anil Muzumdar was a highly regarded batsman in Indian domestic cricket during his playing days. In the classical mould, this right-handed batsman boasts of all the delightful textbook strokes. With a near-perfect technique and a steady temperament, he was a calming influence on the Mumbai side.

He shot into prominence with a massive 260-run knock in his debut Ranji game against Haryana in the 1993-94 season. The merit of the innings can be better gauged by the fact that it was a pre quarter-final game. In fact, it is still the world record for the highest score ever on First-class debut.

In no time, Muzumdar was heralded as the next big thing, the ‘new Tendulkar’ and what not! He made his way into the Indian Under-19 team as the vice-captain for the 1994 England tour. Subsequently, he got picked for the India ‘A’ side, where he had the opportunity to share the dressing room with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

In the very same year, Muzumdar won the first of his seven Ranji trophy titles with Mumbai, under the captaincy of Ravi Shastri. However, what followed was a painfully prolonged barren phase, not in his run-scoring ability, but in his fortune.

He literally worshipped the art of batting. In an interview with Sportskeeda, he talked about his profound love for the sport as a young cricketer.

“I simply could not have anything in my mind but batting. No outings with friends or family functions. I don’t even remember celebrating my birthdays!”

Such was his focus and spirit. Runs never ceased to flow off his bat between 1993-94 and 2002-03, during which he represented the Ranji heavyweights Mumbai. He had piled up 6051 runs in 90 matches at an impressive average of 50.42.

Enigmatically so, he couldn’t impress the wise men. He saw his teammates Wasim Jaffer, Vinod Kambli, Sairaj Bahutule and Nilesh Kulkarni getting a national call-up, although none of them managed to stay there long enough. Somehow Muzumdar still remained obscured from the selectors’ eyeshot.

“It has not been easy after scoring runs for a long time, not to play for India. Because I think if you are good enough for Mumbai, you are good enough for India,” he said, while speaking to Rediff.

Amol Muzumdar (L) and Wasim Jaffer

His gritty nature and the support of family and friends motivated him to keep going. His batting continued to remain flawless. In the 2006-07 season, Mumbai were battling for survival in the group stage; however, Muzumdar never lost belief and, from nowhere, led them to the Ranji title.

He scored a slew of runs, yet again. For all his efforts, it wasn’t really surprising when he became the leading run-scorer for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy, leaving behind Ashok Mankad. As the national call-up still eluded him, he decided to move on.

In August 2009, he was dropped from the Mumbai squad for the Buchi Babu tournament. Resultantly, he had to make the tough decision to part ways with his beloved Mumbai side. He switched to Assam, a Plate division side.

The effects started to show immediately. Leading from the front, he helped them get promoted to the Elite division in the very first season. However, the joy didn’t last long for the North-Eastern side, as they were relegated back to the Plate division in 2011.

He applied back to play for his very own Mumbai side. But things did work out for him due to the one year cooling-off period that was in place. He was offered to contribute to the Quick CC, a Dutch club, as captain-cum-coach. He took it as a challenge and scaled new milestones. Muzumdar coached the Under-18 side to their maiden Championship victory in 60 years.

For a 37-year-old cricketer, to keep himself motivated proved to be tough. He spoke to ESPNCricinfo telling how the stint in Netherlands had revitalized him.

In Muzumdar’s words, “It really got me going and think it has helped me to focus more.”

When he returned back to India, he came to know that his cooling-off period was over. But instead of going back to Mumbai, he signed up for Andhra citing MCA’s quest to introduce fresh talent.

Muzumdar had imbibed the habit of scoring runs. He ended the 2012-13 Ranji season as the 6^th highest run-getter, scoring 868 runs at 78.90. His conversion rate was prolific, too. He accumulated 5 hundreds after having crossed the 50-run mark on 7 occasions.

Midway through the previous Ranji season, he decided to not to play for Andhra Pradesh in the remaining games as they didn’t have any chance of making it to the knockouts, choosing instead to selflessly mentor the youngsters in the side.

On December 28, 2013, Muzumdar was appointed as the batting consultant by KNCB, the Dutch Cricket Board for the ICC World Cup 2015 qualifiers. Unfortunately, the Dutch side fell short of qualifying for the big tournament.

With 9220 runs, Amol Muzumdar is the second highest all-time run-scorer in Ranji trophy cricket, 458 short of the leader, Wasim Jaffer. In all, he has featured in 171 First-class fixtures and has hoarded more than 11,000 runs at 48.13, which includes 30 hundreds and 60 fifties.

His imperious slip-catching abilities deserve a special mention. Muzumdar has grabbed more than 150 of them in his 20-year long First-class career.

In India, a lot of emphasis is put on a player’s age, particularly while considering domestic cricketers for national selection.

Muzumdar had this to say on the attitude of the selectors: “It’s a simple theory. If you are 30+, thank you very much. I don’t think age should be a factor. I can do the same things that a 19-year-old can. I am realistic about aiming for an Indian cap. I wouldn’t fire shots in the air,” he said while speaking to Rediff.

“Performances should be recognized no matter where,” he said when asked about the significance of the performances for the India ‘A’ side.

Quite evidently, a lot of pain is concealed behind those words.

Amol Muzumdar’s tale is a nerve-wracking ordeal. The treatment he has received points out at the serious flaws in the national selection process. It wasn’t his fault to have been born in the era of ‘fab four’ (Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, and VVS Laxman).

He was just as talented and capable as the above mentioned, if not better. The Indian selection panel has always been reluctant to follow a flexible rotation policy. For the young guys to stand in contention, the stalwarts in the senior squad have to necessarily age and decay.

Nonetheless, Muzumdar never found himself in contention even as the fab four called it quits. The only occasion when the BCCI recognised him was for their one-time benefit policy: something he would surely exchange for a place in the national side.

Disappointment, agony, and hope symbolize the career of Muzumdar and a few others in the domestic circuit. It is a pity that Lady Luck was not on his side. In spite of being aware of the fact that cricket won’t earn them any recognition, they toil hard day in and day out simply because they love the sport. Their unflappable commitment, sheer passion, and intensity surely deserves a return.