Prolific Indian domestic batsman Amol Muzumdar will be heading back to his home country after being named as South Africa’s batting coach for next month’s three-Test series.
Muzumdar never won a Test cap with India, despite hitting 30 first-class centuries and 16 half-centuries in a career that spanned two decades and saw him collect more than 11,000 runs for Mumbai, Assam and Andhra Pradesh.
Now he will provide specialist knowledge to the Proteas, who need all they help they can get after failing to score more than 200 in each of their seven innings the last time they toured India in 2015-16.
“Amol is a perfect fit for us,” said CSA acting director of cricket Corrie van Zyl. “He brings an intimate knowledge of Indian playing conditions and the challenges our batsmen are likely to face. He also assisted us at the spin bowling camp we held recently in India and thus has already built up a good working relationship with Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma and Zubayr Hamza.”
Best wishes, #AmolMuzumdar#INDvSA #Proteas #Cricket pic.twitter.com/17E42zvHpT
— Ravi Teja Mandapaka (@Florilegium_FD) September 9, 2019
Muzumdar, 44, has previously served as batting coach for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and has also worked with the India Under-19 and Under-23 sides. He failed to make the shortlist for India’s batting coach earlier this year, with the position instead going to Vikram Rathore.
“Cricket has always been and will continue to be my calling,” Muzumdar said. “Having spent 25 years on the pitch as a player, I intend to spend the next 25 tapping and grooming talent on the cricket field. I am very excited about this new chapter to my coaching career.”
The first Test starts in Visakhapatnam on October 2.
