On the eve of their women’s T20I series opener against England, India’s newly-appointed head coach Amol Muzumdar said that the focus will be on ‘playing fearless cricket’, a mantra which the acclaimed coach and domestic cricket stalwart claims he has prioritized on when he was handed over the responsibility.

“Fearless cricket is something I have always advocated. We would be playing that brand of cricket,” he said on the eve of the first T20I against England.

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Muzumdar also picked fitness and fielding as areas of top priority, and maintained that there will be no compromises on that front, as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side finished giving final touches to their preparations before the home series.

“Fielding and fitness are of highest priority. There is no compromise on fielding and fitness. There will be a lot of camps that will be happening post this series and getting into the next season. There will be a lot of cricket played either at the NCA or somewhere or the other,” Muzumdar said.

“More exposure, fitness and fielding will be my top priority. The fringe players – the new generation coming through – will get equal opportunities. These are the prime things that we will take forward after this series,” he added.

India kicked off preparations for the multi-format series against England and Australia, including two one-off Tests, as early as mid-November at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. After a four-day practice match, they had a three-day camp before touching down at the Wankhede on December 2.

Muzumdar said that specific goals have been set and the players have been accordingly assigned their roles, starting with the opening pair of Shafali Varma and Jemimah Rodrigues.

“Goals have already been set. We already had some (fitness) tests done when we were at the NCA in Bengaluru. (The parameters) are already in place and we follow it very rigorously and religiously moving forward. There will be three tests in the season that is already being followed.”

In T20Is in 2023, India’s openers have only managed two fifty-run partnerships, and Amol hoped that the duo stick to their aggressive brand of cricket.

“We need to play a certain brand of cricket, which we have been known for. Shafali and Jemimah are both very important cogs in the wheel. I would like them to continue what they have been doing,” he said.

Debut of DRS in women’s bilateral series in India

It will be the first instance when the Decision Review System (DRS) will be used in a women’s bilateral series in India. Each team will have two reviews in the T20Is and three per innings in the one-off Test.

DRS was first introduced in women’s cricket at the 2017 ODI World Cup but it was inconsistent in bilaterals. The Women’s T20 World Cup in 2018 was the first T20 edition to have the review system in place. For bilateral series, the use of DRS depended on the host boards.

“We have already had a discussion on this. We do have a DRS committee in place. It is an important aspect of the game. It could be a game-changer or a series-changer. Every small little aspect will be taken care of. We already have a committee in place to deal with that,” Muzumdar said

England captain Heather Knight, who is used to the system as it is used in their home series, including the women’s Hundred, said she trusts her wicketkeeper and bowlers on its utilization.

“We are really used to playing with DRS both internationally and domestically. Myself, the bowler and (wicketkeeper) Amy Jones are really key cogs in terms of information. Not sure I am the best at it, don’t think if I have an amazing record at DRS. Yeah, one of those you trust your bowler and keeper to try and work it out,” Knight said.