Defending champions, Mumbai Indians have always been a side that has backed young talent, as the number of stars that MI have provided the Indian team far exceeds that of any other side in the IPL.
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The likes of Rayaudu, Tiwary, Bumrah and Pandya made their name with MI, before making the jump to the national team.
This all stems from Nita Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians, who always provided great support to the youngsters in the side and has made it a point to back them all the way through.
Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are two of MI’s greatest success stories, as the pair have now become corner stones in the Indian team. Both Pandya and Bumrah were given a chance at Mumbai, and both have credited MI’s wonderful team management for their support over the years.
After last week’s IPL auction, Mumbai Indians were credited for buying some highly promising young talent, as they built a squad with an eye towards the future.
This is what Nita Ambani had to say about her purchases,
“Well first, I think Mumbai Indians has always backed young talent. Ishan was the captain of the Under-19 team and Mumbai Indians needed a wicket-keeping batsman in the top order and he fit the bill. We’ve had Krunal, we’ve had Hardik and we backed them, Bumrah too, and I’m sure Ishan will also make us proud by becoming an international player soon,” quoted Nita Ambani.
“Well, before I came into the auction I just knew that there was this young cricketer from the Caribbean that we’ve all set our eyes on,” Nita added further.
MI coach, Mahela Jayawardena also praised Ishan and Lewis and is excited to see the pair this season.
“Well first, I think Mumbai Indians has always backed young talent. Ishan was the captain of the Under-19 team and Mumbai Indians needed a wicket-keeping batsman in the top order and he fit the bill. We’ve had Krunal, we’ve had Hardik and we backed them, Bumrah too, and I’m sure Ishan will also make us proud by becoming an international player soon,” said Mahela Jayawardene.
“I think he’s a great buy especially at that price, considering some of the other players’ prices that they were going for. I think he’s a young, talented West Indian cricketer who has shown abundance of talent especially against the Indian national team where he scored a couple of hundreds. So, I think we’re very excited to have him. He’ll be a great fit for this franchise. I’m sure that he will enjoy batting at the Wankhede, because it’s a very good batting wicket and it’ll be fun to see him come next IPL,” the MI coach added.
