IPL 2025: Nita Ambani Reveals MI’s Journey in Scouting Pandya Brothers & Bumrah

Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani, during her recent visit to Boston, USA, shared how the team discovered talents like the Pandya brothers (Hardik and Krunal), Jasprit Bumrah, and Tilak Varma. She used to attend every Ranji Trophy match to look for new players. It was from such tournaments that she identified Hardik and Bumrah, who have been a big part of the success of Mumbai Indians over the last 10 years and have aided the team in winning five IPL titles.

“We all have a fixed budget. So every team can spend X amount of money. So, we had to think about new ways of getting talent. I mean, we couldn’t only get the big names. So that’s when I thought that we should encourage new talent in Mumbai Indians," Nita Ambani said in a video shared by ANI.

“So, I remember scouting for talent, and I used to go for every Ranji Trophy match where there were just two crows sitting in the audience. And, you know, my scouts and me would go to all these domestic cricket matches. And one day, our scouts got two young, lanky, thin boys to the camp. I was talking to them, and they said that for three years, they’ve eaten nothing but Maggi noodles because they’ve had no money. But in them, I saw the spirit, the passion, and the hunger that they wanted to make it big. Those two brothers were Hardik and Krunal Pandya. In 2015, I bought Hardik Pandya for 10,000 US dollars in the auction. And today, he’s the proud captain of the Mumbai Indians," Nita Ambani added.

Mumbai Indians: A Talent Hub

Since his IPL debut in 2015, Hardik Pandya has played 137 matches, scoring 2,525 runs and taking 64 wickets. His elder brother, Krunal Pandya, started his IPL journey in 2016 and has played 127 matches, scoring 1,647 runs and picking up 76 wickets.

"The next year, our scouts got one young cricketer with an odd body language, and they said watch him bowl. We watched him he could just speak to the ball. That was our Bumrah and the rest is history. Last year, we launched Tilak Varma, and now he is a proud member of Team India. So I think Mumbai Indians is rightfully called the nursery of cricket in India." Nita Ambani said.

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