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In a shocking revelation, Mumbai Indians (MI) owner Nita Ambani revealed that she used to go alongside her scouts to examine the different talents in the Ranji Trophy. This is where MI spotted the Pandya brothers — Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya — for the first time.
The 60-year-old said that the Pandya brothers had no money and had only eaten Maggi for nearly three years.
“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,” Ambani told ANI.
“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,” she added.
“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," she added.
Since making his debut, Pandya has gone on to become the face of MI, even being appointed as the side’s skipper ahead of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The all-rounder has amassed 1,692 runs for the franchise, striking at 152.4 and picking up 53 wickets with the ball.
Not just that, Ambani also spoke about how they had spotted Jasprit Bumrah, a lanky pacer who had an ‘odd body language’. Fast forward to 2025, Bumrah is one of the best bowlers in world cricket and has helped MI to multiple titles.
“The next year, our scouts got in one young cricketer with odd body language, and they say, ‘Watch him bowl.’ We watched him. He could just speak to the ball. Another legend, Lasith Malinga, and me, both were watching him. And he said, ‘Mrs. Ambani, you need to watch out for him.’
That was our [Jasprit] Bumrah. And they say the rest is history. This year, last year, we launched Tilak Verma, and now he’s a proud member of Team India. So, I think Mumbai Indians is rightfully called the nursery of cricket in India," Nita Ambani said.
