His career coincided with those of four middle-order stalwarts of Indian cricket. Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid were all Amol's contemporaries when he was trying to break into the Indian team.
All of them had played junior cricket together, but these four -Ganguly, Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid -not only managed to break into the national setup, they went on to become legends in their own right.
Muzumdar, who drew the curtains on his first class career on Thursday , though, felt that he was blessed to be a part of that era.
"I tried very hard to break into the Indian team. But then we had people like Sachin, Sourav, VVS and Dravid in the team. They have all played around 125 Tests individually. So while I will be disappointed that I couldn't make the cut, I am extremely grateful to be a part of that golden era of Indian cricket," Muzumdar said.
Waiting in the wings for long periods can be frustrating at times. How did Muzumdar cope with it? "I was always hopeful. I kept scoring runs year after year in the hope of breaking into the Indian team. That kept me going. I gave up around 2003. I kept scoring, but I wasn't even in the India 'A' scheme of things," Muzumdar said candidly.
The wiry batsman made his Mumbai debut in the 199394 season against Haryana and showed his class with a mammoth 260 in the pre-quarterfinal game. He played 16 seasons for Mumbai after his memorable debut and scored heavily each season. The only real slump he suffered was in the 2002-2003 season where he simply couldn't score. He revealed that he was about to hang up his boots and was exploring other career options, but his father played his part, quite subtly.
"I had decided enough was enough. I was not getting runs, I was clueless as to where my next run would come from and then I took a decision to call it quits. But I had already signed up to play league cricket in England. So my father suggested that since I had committed to the club, I should fulfil it and then take a final call," Muzumdar recalled.
He narrated an interesting anecdote about how he recovered his form and confidence. "As a kid, I used to tie a ball to a rope and hit the ball around 500 times a day. My father had very smartly slipped the ball inside my bag when I left for England. While unpacking, I saw a ball tied to a rope. So, I decided to restart that drill of hitting balls. I started to knock the ball in my room. Much to my astonishment, I started getting runs. After returning from England, I was certain that I didn't want to quit. I played for Mumbai and was back among runs too," he said.
After representing Mumbai for 16 long years, Muzumdar decided to play for other states. Not because he was disgruntled with the set up here, but to give something back to the game. "I moved to Assam and then to Andhra because I was confident that I could be of help to youngsters. In my very first season with Assam, we qualified for the Elite Division for the first time ever. I then went to Andhra for precisely the same reason," he insisted.
Muzumdar, who is batting consultant to The Netherlands' national cricket team, said that he will focus on coaching and media work.
AMOL FILES
First class debut: 1993-1994 against Haryana in a Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal.
Highest score: 260 on debut Career first class runs: 11,167 in 171 matches
Teams represented: Mumbai, Assam and Andhra
Did you know? In 1994, he was made vice-captain of India Under-19 team and played alongside Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid for India A. Three favourite knocks 98 in the first innings against Baroda in Baroda in the Ranji Trophy semifinal in 2007. 132 against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji semifinal played in Indore in 1997-98 and two centuries for Andhra
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