IPL 2025: Five young Mumbai Indians scouted players who took the league by storm

Mumbai Indians (MI) won their first game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Monday. Left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar was the star of the show with his four wickets on debut against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday. The 24-year-old was picked by the Mumbai Indians for INR 30 lakhs during the IPL 2025 auction last year. 

Ashwani Kumar was named man of the match for his amazing debut. The youngster got the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, followed by Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, and Manish Pandey. That effort saw KKR getting bowled out for just 116 runs as MI won the game by eight wickets to spare 43 balls left to play. 

This isn’t the first time that the Mumbai Indians’ scouted talents have come to the fore. The Men in Blue and Gold have instituted a tremendous scouting system. Over the years, MI has unearthed new talents. Some of these talents have gone on to make huge names for themselves not just in the IPL but also in the national colours. 

Here’s a look at the top five talents scouted by Mumbai Indians

5- Vignesh Puthur 

Young left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in the game against Chennai Super Kings. Puthur, who is yet to make his domestic debut for Kerala, was sent to South Africa to train with Rashid Khan during the SA20 league. On his IPL debut, Vignesh Puthur claimed three wickets but couldn’t prevent MI from losing the game. 

4Tilak Varma 

Head of the IPL 2022 season, the Mumbai Indians picked up Tilak Varma for INR 1.7 crore, more than nine times more than his base price. The youngster was quick to impress everyone with his batting prowess and soon became a key member of the side. Tilak Varma soon became a part of India’s white-ball sides and was retained ahead of the IPL 2025 campaign for INR 8 crore. 

3Hardik Pandya 

In 2015, young Hardik Pandya was picked by Mumbai Indians during the auction. The wiry lad from Baroda made his presence felt with the bat and ball to help MI win the 2015 IPL title. Pandya soon made his debut for India and won three more IPL titles with Mumbai. In 2022, Hardik was picked by the Gujarat Titans as their first choice draft and helped his new side win the 2022 title before returning to MI ahead of the 2024 season. 

2Ashwani Kumar 

Young left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar rocked the IPL with his four wicket haul on his debut for MI. Kumar, who grabbed the attention of MI’s scouts during a local tournament, picked four wickets for 24 runs against KKR. Kumar bowled with good discipline and began by getting the wicket of Rahane with his first ball. The young seamer then dismissed Raghuvanshi when the latter was looking dangerous. With the wickets of Manish Pandey and Andre Russell, it was Kumar’s big day out on the field on his IPL debut for the five-time winners. 

1- Jasprit Bumrah 

The biggest talent scouted by Mumbai Indians is none other than Jasprit Bumrah. John Wright and the rest of the MI scouts were impressed with the attitude shown by the young seamer. Bumrah made his IPL debut in 2013 and claimed the wickets of Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, and Daniel Christian to finish with 3/32 from his four overs. Over the next few years, Bumrah became a key member of MI’s side under Lasith Malinga’s tutelage. Bumrah not only became India’s best pacer but also was named the number one pacer and went on to captain India in Test cricket as well.