'Want to continue tradition of developing young players for India': Nita Ambani after IPL 2025 mega auction

Mumbai Indians picked up a blend of experienced and youth players at the IPL 2025 mega auction as they looked to build a squad around their core group. Team owner Nita Ambani has opened up on how the team wants to continue with the tradition of raising young players for India.

Mumbai Indians roped in several young players in the IPL 2025 mega auction apart from bringing in some experienced talent into their squad for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. 

MI were a little quiet on Day 1 of the mega auction, having roped in four players, but, they were pretty busy on the second day when they picked the majority of their squad. Mumbai brought back speedster Trent Boult, who had played for them in 2020 and 2021. 

They added a young pool of players including Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Angad Bawa, Shrijith Krishnan, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar and Vignesg Puthur at the two-day mega auction. Speaking on the squad after the auctions, team owner Nita Ambani highlighted her team's goal of building young Indian players. 

"Mega auction means new team, new start but the same Mumbai Indians enthusiasm," Nits said. "I am happy to welcome some new faces and to have some old ones back with us – Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Allah Ghazanfar, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Angad Bawa, Shrijith Krishnan, Satyanarayana Raju, Bevon-John Jacobs, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams and Vignesh Puthur. We have retained a strong core with Hardik, Jasprit, Rohit, Surya and Tilak and the opportunity at the auction was to see how we can build a team around them."

MI have previously nurtured young Indian talent. They have helped the likes of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah reach greater heights and now hope to develop the next generation of players. "At MI, we take a lot of pride and satisfaction in scouting and nurturing many young talents who have gone on to play for the Indian team. From Jasprit, Hardik, Tilak, Ramandeep Singh, and now we have a pool of upcoming youngsters and an opportunity to develop the next set of talent - Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Angad Bawa and Shrijith Krishnan. 

"I am very excited to welcome them to the Mumbai Indians #OneFamily and we want to continue this tradition of developing young players for Indian cricket. Paltan, this is our team, Mumbai’s team. Your support is the biggest strength of Mumbai Indians. Paltan, Let’s see our #OneFamily play and win together," she said.

Mumbai will be heading into the new season with an aim to add another title to their trophy cabinet. They have won the IPL five times and would hunt for a record sixth crown in 2025 under Hardik Pandya.