Published: Feb 03, 2016, 11:56 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 03, 2016, 12:23 PM (IST)
It is gratifying for every coach and mentor to see his protégé getting name and fame that he richly deserves. Nita Ambani is having the same feeling of pride and satisfaction at the moment, as two of her franchise’s brightest finds Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have made the country proud after they recently got the opportunity to play for India in the limited-overs series in Australia. Both Bumrah and Pandya did well in the limited opportunities they got and have added strength to the squad ahead of the ICC World T20. Happy and proud with the development, Nita now looks forward to the upcoming IPL player auctions. READ: Rajkot franchise for IPL 2016 named ‘Gujarat Lions’.
Talking to TOI, Nita spoke about these two players, the IPL auctions, appointment of former IPL CEO Sundar Raman as the CEO of Reliance Sports and her other sports ventures. “It gives me immense pride to see MI finds such as Hardik (Pandya), Bumrah performing so well for the country. We will evaluate the available options based on our need. Our coach (Ponting) is here and we will be collectively discussing our options. Akash too is hands-on in these efforts,” she said, talking about her franchise’s strategy for the IPL auctions this weekend in Bengaluru.
Mumbai Indians released 10 players, including the likes of Australia’s T20I captain Aaron Finch, Aditya Tare and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. They have retained 19 players and have Rs 14.4 crore remaining in the purse to spend on the new buys. The think tank comprising of head coach Ricky Ponting, CEO Raman, Nita and her son Akash will be representing the Mumbai Indians (MI) among others at the auctions. Akash will also lead the MI management campaign this season as Nita gets busy focusing on Reliance Foundation which promotes various grassroots programmes in sports, more importantly football, and scholarships for young talents.
Talking about the addition of Raman, who was brought on board as the CEO of Reliance Sports after he put in his papers at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in November last year, Nita says, “We are very happy to have Sundar on board. He brings with him rich experience in this space. He will be responsible for consolidation of our existing businesses and driving newer avenues of growth in this area.” Besides cricket, Nita and Reliance have ventured in multiple sports including football, basketball and tennis. Their commitment remains to promote the development of and create infrastructure for various sports.
