Muzumdar wants India to 'stay in the present' ahead of Lord's Test

India women's team head coach Amol Muzumdar believes his side has moved on from the disappointment of a group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup and is eager to embrace the occasion of playing the first-ever women's Test at Lord's.

India take on England in the historic four-day contest which begins on Friday (July 10). England head into the Test after finishing runners-up to Australia.

Muzumdar admitted it was surprising that Lord's had never before staged a women's Test and described the occasion as a landmark moment. "It boggles my mind that it's just the first Test match here at Lord's. It's a great occasion and we are looking forward to it."

Muzumdar said playing a Test at Lord's was a dream for any Indian cricketer and revealed the fixture had been a topic of conversation within the dressing room even before the World Cup. "It's a dream to play a Test match for any Indian cricketer, leave alone playing at Lord's. Everyone was talking about the Test match at Lord's even before the World Cup started. The time is now, so I guess they will be excited about it."

The India coach acknowledged that recovering from the World Cup disappointment had taken time, but said the team has turned its attention to preparing for the Test. "It has been a mixed bag. We had to recover from the loss. But the character of the team had to come out. We have managed to do that. We had five really good days of prep at Wormsley Cricket Club, a perfect setting for preparations, and then here at Lord's."

Muzumdar added that the message within the group was to put the World Cup behind them and focus entirely on the challenge ahead. "All we need to do is just stay in the present. What is gone we cannot change it. All we need to do is look forward and prepare the best we can for the event ahead."

India's last Test was four months ago – a pink-ball Test at the WACA where they lost by 10 wickets to Australia. Before that, they registered a 10-wicket win over South Africa in Chennai in 2024. England's last Test was in January 2025 when they suffered an innings defeat to Australia at the MCG.

Muzumdar also spoke about the appeal of red-ball cricket. "Red-ball cricket is always exciting and brings different challenges. You've got to bowl 100 overs in a day in a four-day game. Test cricket will always be Test cricket. Personally, red-ball cricket brings a lot of excitement. In this squad, they're all looking forward to the Test match and are geared up for it."