Nita Ambani made some interesting revelations while sharing how Mumbai Indians discovered talented players like Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. The Pandya brothers and Jasprit Bumrah made the world sit up and take note of their talent while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah went on to establish themselves as key members of the India national cricket team and also won the T20 World Cup title in 2024. Speaking at an event in Boston, the founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation shared how she saw the 'spirit, passion and hunger' of wanting to make it big.  MI IPL 2025 Schedule: Mumbai Indians' Fixtures in Indian Premier League Season 18 and Venue Details.

"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," she said while speaking at the event. Hardik Pandya had joined Gujarat Titans and had led them to the IPL title that year before making a shock return to the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. IPL 2025 Schedule Announced: KKR to Face RCB in Opening Match on March 22, Get Indian Premier League Season 18 Fixtures, Complete Time Table with Match Timings in IST and Venue Details.

Nita Ambani Recalls Scouting Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah

Nita Ambani also spoke about Jasprit Bumrah, who came across as a 'young cricketer with an odd body language.' She shared how she and the legendary Lasith Malinga were watching the pacer 'who could speak to the ball.' She said, "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."Mumbai Indians retained Hardik Pandya for Rs 16.35 crore and Jasprit Bumrah for a sum of Rs 18 crore ahead of IPL 2025.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 17, 2025 03:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).