“They said that for three years, they've eaten nothing but Maggi noodles” - Nita Ambani recalls first meeting with ‘lanky’ Pandya brothers

Owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women's Premier League (WPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) Nita Ambani recalled her first conversation with all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya. She first met the two nearly ten years ago in a preparatory camp.

Nita Ambani revealed that the Pandya brothers told her that they ate nothing but Maggi noodles for three years because they had little money.

Hardik Pandya was bought by the Mumbai Indians in 2015. He went on to make his debut for India in 2016 and returned as captain of the franchise in 2024. Today, he is among the best all-rounders in the world in white-ball cricket.

"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," Ambani was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

The Mumbai Indians owner also recalled how she used to attend Ranji Trophy matches to scout players in order to find new talent, which led to the side discovering the 'lanky' Pandya brothers.

"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," Nita Ambani said.

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Nita Ambani calls Mumbai Indians the nursery of cricket in India

The Mumbai Indians owner also revealed how they spotted Jasprit Bumrah in 2013. Bumrah is among the leading pacers in world cricket today.

"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," she stated.

Nita Ambani highlighted how Mumbai Indians have unearthed several talented cricketers through their scouting. She also cited the example of Tilak Varma, who now represents India in international cricket as well.

"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," she said.