Amol Muzumdar announces retirement from first-class cricket

Amol Muzumdar (R)

Veteran Mumbai batsman Amol Muzumdar has announced his retirement from first-class cricket, but has said that he will continue to play club cricket in Netherlands.

Despite a celebrated domestic career, the 39-year-old middle order player, who made his first-class debut in 1993, against Andhra Pradesh, never managed to get the big break, thanks to the Indian batting line-up that had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman performing consistently at the top level.

Muzumdar said: "I always felt there would be an opening somewhere as I was scoring runs. I always held hope every year. The closest I have come to bagging India Test cap was in 1996. I didn't play for India, but I have moved on. My mindset changed in 2003 with my family support.”

Muzumdar, who has 11,167 runs in 171 matches at an average of 48.13, was a part of the Mumbai Ranji set-up for 14 years, a period during which the team won 7 titles. He was the captain of the side that won the Ranji trophy defeating Bengal in the final in 2006/07, before moving on to represent Assam for two years.

His comeback after a short break, representing Andhra Pradesh, was short-lived but successful; after a productive 2012-13 season, he opted out halfway through 2013-14 so that the youngsters waiting in the wings could get more chances. He then moved on to work with the Netherlands men’s cricket team as an assistant coach.

With 9202 runs in 136 matches, the right-hander is the second-leading run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy history, only behind to his Mumbai teammate Wasim Jaffer.

BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said: “Amol Muzumdar, one of the finest batsmen produced by the country, has announced his retirement from all forms of the game. In a first-class career that spanned two decades, he scored 11,167 runs from 171 matches at an average of 48.13, inclusive of 30 centuries. He scored over 9000 runs in the Ranji Trophy.

“He represented Mumbai with distinction for several seasons, and was part of many a Ranji Trophy winning side. He was captain of the Mumbai team that won the title in 2006-07. On behalf of the BCCI, I wish Amol all the best for the future.”