Amol Muzumdar hails WPL's contribution after India's historic T20I series win in England
The inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 changed the complexion of the Indian men's side as far as white-ball cricket is concerned. The influx of talent grew manifold and the exposure the uncapped players got from such an early stage was unprecedented, thereby helping the transition from domestic to international cricket to become a seamless process.
The Women's Premier League (WPL), the IPL's baby sister took form in 2021 and while these are still early years, there is already progess in the India women's side. Over the last 12-18 months, the performances of the team has been on the upswing even though silverware eluded them. Nevertheless, they did compete well and managed to stretch top sides like Australia on multiple occasions. Now, with the first ever bilateral T20I series win in England, the foundation set by the WPL is gradually starting to give results.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar hailed the WPL's contribution in improving the mindset and mentality of the Indian players. Over the years, skill has seldom been an issue but the inability to close out games under pressure has been a constant problem. While one series win doesn't change things overnight, Muzumdar sounded upbeat about his side being on the right track. The Mumbai stalwart felt that the overall standards of domestic cricket has improved considerably, thereby helping the cricketers to prepare for international 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 to PTI.
"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 the importance."
Shree Charani, who was playing her first-ever T20I campaign in India colours, ended up as Player of the Series. The left-arm spinner showed commendable composure in tense moments and while she went wicketless in the final T20I, the series had already been sealed by then. Muzumdar heaped praise on the rookie and backed her to have a long career.
"I guess, you know, from WPL we identified her 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's fitted the bill perfectly."
The standout feature of India's series win was in the way they fielded and bowled. For so long till recently, the team had been guilty of being patchy with their ground fielding and importantly, their catching. However, during these five T20Is in England, not only did Harmanpreet's side put up a sensational effort but were also arguably much better than the home side as well. Muzumdar admitted that this point of difference was critical to the eventual result.
"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."
"Having said that, the 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 was bowling and fieldin. And I think this series has shown the results."
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