Mumbai Indians’ Owner Leaks Jasprit Bumrah's and Hardik Pandya's Signing Story

For the Mumbai Indians (MI), both Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been a vital part of the franchise’s five titles in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Hardik has contributed with his all-round skills, while the Indian team has earned Bumrah thanks to the Mumbai side.

The Gujarat pacer has picked up 165 wickets in 133 innings in the league at an average of 22.51 and a strike rate of 18.5. His economy of 7.30 hardly paints the picture of how much impact he has brought for the side. Hardik, on the other hand, has notched up 2525 runs in 128 innings at a strike rate of 145.61, thanks to 10 half-centuries.

Nita Ambani reveals story of buying Hardik Pandya for IPL 2015

The Mumbai Indians’ owner, Nita Ambani, has revealed that he sued to go to the Ranji Trophy in the past to unleash the new talent for his franchise. And that was when he remembered talking to both Hardik and Krunal Pandya at the MI camp, where the duo disclosed eating Maggie for three years because of a shortage of money.

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"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.” Ambani said during a recent interaction.

Along with Hardik, Krunal has also cracked 1647 runs in 111 innings of the IPL at an average of 22.56 and a strike rate of 132.82, thanks to the best score of 86. With the ball, the left-arm spinner collected 76 wickets at an economy rate of 7.36.

“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 Maggie, and 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.” The Mumbai Indians’ owner addressed.

“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 disclosed.

Both the all-rounder went on to play for the Indian side. Even though Krunal had a short career for the national side, it’s hard to think of a white-ball side of the blue brigade without Hardik.

“Mumbai Indians is rightfully called the nursery of cricket in India”- Nita Ambani

Mrs. Ambani also went on to explain that when the scouts had told her about Bumrah, she felt that the Ahmedabad-born could speak to the ball. She also highlighted buying Tilak Verma, who is now a vital member of India’s T20I team.

“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.” The Mumbai Indians’ owner shed light.

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“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 concluded.

Mumbai Indians to start IPL 2025 campaign against Chennai Super Kings

The Hardik Pandya-led side will begin their campaign of the IPL 2025 against the Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. They will then fly to the Narendra Modi Stadium for the second clash against Gujarat Titans (GT).

Their first home game of the IPL 2025 will be against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31 at the Wankhede Stadium.