Meticulous, organized, soft-spoken are just a few words that describe Amol Muzumdar, who decimated bowling attacks with surgical precision as he ruled the domestic circuit in India for almost two decades, before he called it a day in December 2013. The former Mumbai captain was a dream to watch as he purposefully carried the team on his shoulders through various phases before taking up roles like mentoring, coaching and also a commentator.
A batsman in the classical mould, he amassed 11167 runs at an average of 48.13 from 171 first-class matches, 9202 of which came in the Ranji Trophy. “I was lucky to have met Frank Tyson at an early edge and followed his advice to a T,” says Muzumdar as he contemplates before answering the question on what was the key to his consistency.
In a free flowing interview with
BCCI.TV, Muzumdar speaks passionately on the art of batting, the grind and pride that comes with playing for Mumbai as he gives us a glimpse into what made him the batsman that he was.
Excerpts:
What was the key to your consistency?
Hard to say what the key was as there are a lot of factors. But I can tell you one very interesting story. At a very young age (15-16), I happened to speak to Frank Tyson sir and he told me that when you go in next (time) to bat, and if you are successful on that particular day (then) keep a note of things and you will find a formula you followed throughout that day and that formula is your success form. I was very lucky to get the advice at a very young age and followed it to a ‘T’. Since then I stuck with that formula. You just have to find certain things and I think that is the key to being successful over the years; to find that formula early and to keep repeating that formula every time you get to the field.
Having watched batsmen, especially the top-order play risk free cricket in recent months, would you say that batsmen have found the key to batting in T20?
I think there is a change in understanding the game. Actually, it is not (just) about batting; it is about the whole concept of T20. You can decode it as per your convenience and as per the team’s convenience - Say an RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) would approach the T20 game a little differently in terms of batting, whereas Mumbai Indians would do the same in their own way, in their style. There are different ways, modes and codes to decode that T20 batting formula. We have seen in the World T20 and also in the IPL that players are taking their time, but it is important to have the basics right. The more solid players or the better equipped ones and by that I mean technically and temperamentally are more suited to T20 cricket.
How important is sound technique?
For me batting was very simple. It was all about the head positioning and with it everything else fell in its place. It’s also important that the feet (are in good position) and everything again relates to the head position. Feet are very important as far as batting concerned. If your feet are not in a better position to play a shot, then everything else (wouldn’t be synchronized). It’s a chain reaction - it starts from head and then feet and then hand.
I feel there are only three things in batting. I tried to keep my feet position correctly which followed the chain reaction of feet and head.
How crucial is footwork?
I think footwork is very individualistic. For me footwork is all about balance -whichever way you can find body balance, everyone will have different footwork but yet it has to be in a particular framework.
How did you adapt to different conditions? What was the kind of work that went into it?
When I started my first-class career, I was a complete novice about technique. I didn’t care much about it. I tried to keep it very simple. I tried to adapt to the situations rather than thinking too much about technique. I gave more importance to the situation that I was thrown in. If the team was 30 for three, I needed to adapt and play accordingly, if it was 300 for three I needed to gauge the situation and play accordingly. So I paid more attention to the match situation. Once I got the hang of things and I knew that technique is equally important, then I tweaked them a little bit. From time to time, I had to readjust my grip, my stance, my body. I got to learn about the intricacies once I was heavily into first-class cricket. When I started I was a different player, but when I finished I was a completely different player.
As a cricketer I always felt that you have to be very versatile. I believe it more strongly now that I have been to places all over the world watching and playing cricket. You have to cater to different pitches and conditions that are offered to you on a wide variety of pitches across the country. It maybe a slow turner or a rank turner, there are different kinds of turners and there are different kinds of pitches with seam movement. To be a good solid performer over a consistent period of time, you have to be technically strong. I always believe that an Indian cricketer is a versatile cricketer because he caters to the demand of different pitches all over the country and he has to be technically very strong. His foot movement, his eyesight has to fall in its place and that contributes to his solid technique a solid technique is very necessary to be successful in India.
What do you advise youngsters? Training differently for different pitches?
Of course you need to train differently. I would train during the middle part of my career. I would train when I started paying attention to technique. I could train according to conditions and pitches that I was likely to encounter at Feroz Shah Kotla or in Assam or at the Barabati stadium. By then I knew every pitch, every little ground in the country so I knew where I was going, knew what I was going to do and how I have to handle a particular bowler. Before I played at Wankhede, I would to go on the astro turf and practice the shorter ball which had more bounce at the Khar Gymkhana. Certain things you adjust and you inculcate those things in your game and those are just self driven things.
All I would tell a youngster is that you will be thrown into different situations. You try and adjust and cater to those demands of the game and also pay a lot of attention to your technique. Because you will see even in T20 cricket somebody like a KL Rahul who is technically very strong, very calm will get success. In Test matches, he is successful and in ODIs also he is successful. Technique is the most important (aspect).
How does a batsman show his one-upmanship to the bowler?
It depends on an individual. For me – you can gauge a cricketer from his eyes. Your eyes are very important when you take the field. I always felt that when you go to the crease, even though there are butterflies in the stomach, even though you are nervous, your body language should project that you have come here to rule. You may get out on the first ball, (but) the body language has to be very assertive and you have to let the opposition know, ‘you have to dislodge me’ and it all starts from eyes again. You can make out a confident cricketer from his eyes. I used to watch, and sometimes when I was a captain while on the field, I used to gauge a cricketer from his eyes. You could strategize if you come across a player who is confident; confident about his own ability (then) you strategize a little differently. Even while batting you have to give that look back to the bowler even when he is amidst a very good spell. I preferred to look into his (bowler’s) eyes. There are different ways of handling things, but while batting I preferred not to talk. (laughs). The bowler always has an upper-hand. He always has the ball and as a batsman, you just have one ball to get you out. You don’t talk but show that gaze to the bowler so that he knows that you are here. “See you cannot dislodge me so easily.” You just have to have that presence and body language has to be very positive.
How did you work around the resources available or sometimes the lack of them as a captain and a senior with the pressure of staying on top as a Mumbai team was always expected to be?
The pressure was always on from the first game every year every season. Every year, if you don’t win the Ranji Trophy it is a failure for Mumbai. Only if you win the Ranji Trophy, only if you win the silverware it counts. People talk about the glorious part and the great history that we have to be fair. I was always aware of that history. I was always aware that we need to protect that and I tried my best to give the very best on the ground.
The baton has been passed. We saw a young Aditya Tare-led team going through transition and managed to come out on top through two tough years. How does Mumbai do it always?
The infrastructure in Mumbai is world-class. The different formats that we play, it’s unique. It’s not everywhere in the world that you will find that. More or less you know that there will be cricketers who will be mentally very strong. Everyone may not be of the highest standard technically, but mentally they will be very strong and I think that’s cutting edge.
The grind that they go through in the city, the different formats they play, the culture of club cricket, office cricket, culture of playing on different kinds of grounds - Azad maiden or a Cross maidan and finally playing at Wankhede. Those kind of situations that a young cricketer is thrown in makes him mentally ready to encounter anything.
How much more the cricket has enriched because of innovations that have come in?
In my opinion T20 cricket has brought in a lot of good things. There are pros and cons, but I think T20 cricket has brought life back into cricket. A lot of Tests are more result oriented (so) there will be more watchers. It has brought in innovations - batting and bowling and slow-ball bouncer; for me the bouncer was always at 140 clicks and went past your head. There are different innovations, (but) having said that a cover drive still is a cover drive, straight drive still is a straight drive it gives a great pleasure to a batsman rather than a flick over a wicketkeeper. If you asked a batsman today what’s your best shot I guarantee you they would say cover drive. If you hit a cover drive, the bowler is more annoyed. I personally welcome every innovation that has come through, but I prefer the duress when it comes to some classical shots – cover drive, a back-foot punch or a back-foot square-cut. I want the game to go forward and it is going forward. I think T20 cricket has brought in a lot of excitement towards cricket and a lot of viewership.
Which was your favourite shot? Cover drive?
Yes, the cover drive, but I knew I was in good form when I played the on drive. When you play cover drive, yes everything is going fine, but I knew if I hit an on drive, I am in good form. It is again because of the head positioning; you cannot play an on drive unless you have a good head position. When in good form, your head position is correct and I knew that when I hit an on drive it is all co-related. When you get an on drive, you know that everything is correct.
How much do you enjoy coaching and sharing experience with youngsters?
I love being on the ground. I love being among cricketers. Again, I would like to be versatile in that and cater to individual needs. You don’t need group coaching. You need individual coaching because as a player I knew what I wanted, but probably someone in the same team didn’t know what he wanted. So the coach had to cater to that guy differently than me. Whatever I have learnt over the years, I would put that into practice when I coach a youngster.
What is it that you enjoy most?
It’s a very tough question. Coaching is something which would always stay with me because I love being on the ground. I love to be on the ground even when I am commentating. I love to spend time on the ground, get a feel of being there, watch every player, his body language, what is he doing what is happening around so I think coaching is something that I would put on top of the list and commentary again I love it.
