"Trying to nurture, develop young talent with our women's team": MI owner Nita Ambani
Dec 16, 2024
MUMBAI: Nita Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians, expressed her satisfaction with the team MI assembled for the Women's Premier League 2025 season while also outlining the team's vision and wanting to back youngsters.
During the mini-auction on Sunday, Mumbai Indians, the inaugural champions in the WPL, added four players to complete the 18-member squad by getting South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk and Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Sanskriti Gupta and Rajasthan pacer Akshita Maheshwari in addition to Kamalini.
Speaking after the auction in Bengaluru, Nita Ambani said as quoted from a video posted by MI on Instagram, "We are all very happy and satisfied with the team we have assembled today. Auctions are exciting and emotional at the same time. I am so proud of all the girls who have participated in the auction today and all the girls who have now become part of the Mumbai Indians family: G Kamalini, Nadine de Klerk, Sanskriti Gupta and Akshita Maheshwari."
Mumbai Indians also managed to add the highly rated and much coveted G Kamalini to the roster. The 16-year-old from Tamil Nadu made her India U19 debut against Pakistan U19s in the U19 Asia Cup.
In the auction, the 16-year-old's bid was zoomed to Rs 1.6 crore and confirmed her spot in the Mumbai-based franchise's squad.
Talking about her signing, Nita Amabni said, "This year we are very excited about the 16-year-old Kamalini. Our scouts have been tracking her for some time and she is a very exciting new talent to look out for. So, in all, a satisfying day at the auction."
Nita Ambani welcomed the four new players with a message, saying, "We warmly welcome you to the Mumbai Indians family. Mumbai Indians have always tried to scout, nurture and develop young talent. We have done this with our men's team and it is a proud feeling to see Bumrah, Hardik and now Tilak representing India on the global stage. We are trying to do the same thing with our girls too. Last year, we picked Sajana up in the auction. It's wonderful to see her now playing for Team India." (ANI)
