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Nita Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians, shared the backstory of how the team was able to scout Jasprit Bumrah and the Pandya brothers. The nucleus of the MI club, which has won numerous IPL championships in the past, was composed of Hardik, Krunal, and Bumrah. All three men later made their debuts for the Indian squad. Bumrah has stayed with MI throughout his IPL career, Hardik returned to the team as captain during the IPL 2024 season, while Krunal has left the team.
Nita Ambani on Pandya brothers
Nita Ambani said at a Boston event that she used to attend every Ranji Trophy game in an effort to find fresh potential for the team. She recalled speaking with the Pandya brothers at the MI camp, who disclosed that the two had been living off of Maggi noodles for almost three years due to a lack of money.
The MI owner claimed that she chose to include the brothers on the team because she could see their drive and desire to succeed in cricket.
"In IPL, 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... So I remember scouting for talent, and I used to go to every Ranji Trophy match and my scouts and I would go to all these domestic cricket matches. And one day, our scouts took 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 Pandya and Krunal Pandya. In 2015, I bought Hardik Pandya at 10 thousand US dollars in the auction, and today, he's the proud captain of Mumbai Indians," said Nita Ambani.
Nita Ambani on Bumrah
Nita Ambani continued by saying that she thought Bumrah could communicate with the ball, after hearing about the pacer from the scouts. Tilak Varma, who is currently an important member of India's T20I team, was also mentioned by the MI owner. According to Nita Ambani, MI has turned into the "nursery of cricket in India."
"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," said Nita Ambani.
With their opening game against rivals CSK on March 23 in Chennai, MI is poised to make a run for their sixth IPL championship in the 2025 season. Hardik will be Mumbai's captain once more, but he will not play against Chennai in the first game.
