Nita Ambani's First Encounter with Hardik and Krunal Pandya: The Story of Two Lanky Boys Surviving on Maggi for 3 Years without any Money

Nita Ambani, the proud owner of the Mumbai Indians, fondly reminisced about the first encounter she had with Hardik and Krunal Pandya over a decade ago during a preparatory camp. Hardik's debut in the MI team back in 2015 was followed by his national team debut for India the next year. The progression in his career since then has been nothing short of remarkable, with his accomplishments leaving everyone in awe. It is worth noting that none of this would have been possible without the impeccable scouting process of the Mumbai Indians. Starting his journey as a promising all-rounder, Hardik's evolution to becoming the captain of the MI team is truly inspiring for the young cricketers aspiring to make it big in the sport. His success story serves as a beacon of hope and motivation for the upcoming generation of cricketers striving to follow in his footsteps.

"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," she said.

"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."

Bumrah would talk to the ball

MI and Ambani's story don't end there. Even before Hardik, they spotted Bumrah. In 2013, a young Bumrah rattled AB de Villiers' stumps for MI against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and gave him a send-off. As Bumrah has often revealed, he never bowled with a season ball while growing up - it was mostly tennis balls and tape balls for him. And still, for a bowler with very limited skills with a proper cricket ball to become the world's greatest fast bowler today, it is not something you hear every day.

"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," Mrs. Ambani said.

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