Top 5 Indian cricketers who were scouted by Mumbai Indians before making their international debut

Mumbai Indians have been one of the most successful franchises to have played in the Indian Premier League. Up until the completion of the 18th edition, IPL 2025, they have won five titles; the joint-most alongside Chennai Super Kings. The results on the field are backed by months of beforehand planning and a forward-looking philosophy when it comes to team building.

MI have always been a franchise who have gone all-in on international superstars. However, they have also been a team who have had a knack for identifying young Indian talent with serious potential in them. Not only are these players scouted from nowhere, but they are also groomed by the franchise’s expert coaching staff to eventually end up donning the India jersey in the future.

India stars scouted by MI before making their international debut

5. Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya was drafted in a year after his elder brother, Hardik Pandya. Although he did not really have a lot of exposure to First-Class matches or even List A games or T20 matches, MI’s scouts seemed to have discovered raw ability in his all-round abilities. He was signed for INR 2 crore, a relatively high amount for an uncapped player back in the day.

He became a part of MI’s powerful middle-order structure alongside Hardik and Kieron Pollard. Krunal struck at a blistering 191.12 in 2016. Although his strike rate decreased in the following edition, his performance with the ball bettered. Krunal’s economy in IPL 2017 was just 6.82 in the 13 matches he played. After another vital season, he was finally called up to the T20I side to make his debut in the West Indies series.

4. Tilak Varma

Having made his First-Class debut for Hyderabad in the 2018/19 season, Tilak Varma‘s breakthrough moment came when he was picked for the India U19 side for the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. With 215 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 147.26 in the 2021 instalment of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he automatically gained interest from IPL franchises.

Tilak was acquired for INR 1.7 crore at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022. He was straightaway made an integral part of the system, playing all 14 games in his debut season. He did even better in 2023, scoring 343 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 164.11. The southpaw finally made his international debut a short while after in the T20I series against West Indies in August 2023. He now has two hundreds for Men in Blue in 20-over format as well.

3. Axar Patel

Axar Patel‘s FC and List A career kicked off in 2012 for Gujarat. Despite not really having an impressive domestic season, Axar was brought on board by MI given the potent he had as an all-rounder. In the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season, he delivered clinically with bat (369 runs at 46.12) and ball (29 wickets at 23.58). However, the lef-handed all-rounder did not feature in a single game. This was mainly due to the team combinations.

The spin-bowling all-rounder was said to have gained a widespread experience while practicing alongside legends of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. He was released by MI after they won their maiden IPL title. However, the time at the Mumbai-based side was not futile at all. Axar made his ODI and T20I debuts in 2014 and 2015, respectively, after impressive performances for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).

2. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya was first brought to the attention of the then-head coach of MI, John Wright. Wright was amongst the few spectators at the Wankhede Stadium during a SMAT clash in 2014 between Mumbai and Baroda. Hardik had impressed Wright during his unbeaten 82-run knock off 57 balls. He was zeroed in on by Ricky Ponting ahead of the auction of IPL 2015 after impressing a lot of the backroom staff during the selection trials.

Despite not performing up to the mark in his first two seasons, MI opted on retaining him. He soon made his India debut in T20Is and ODIs in 2016 and then his maiden red-ball appearance in the next year. Hardik’s first stint at MI was a really rewarding one for him. Other than the 2015 triumph, he was a vital part of three other title wins in 2017, 2019, and 2020. He is now the full-time captain for the franchise.

1. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is yet another uncapped player to be secured by the Mumbai-based franchise, with just around a year of domestic 20-over experience under his belt. He played only two matches in 2013. His first IPL wicket was that of Virat Kohli. Bumrah was played for a considerably more number of games in 2014. Despite being able to take only five wickets in those matches, his unique action which caused him to extract the extra zip off the deck impressed one and all.

He played only four matches in 2015. However, his ability to nail yorkers in the death overs and a bag full of variations meant he was soon called up to the white-ball side. He started to become a regular feature in the limited-overs squads for India since 2016. Over the years, not only did Bumrah become a leader of the various bowling lineups MI have possessed, he has also developed into one of India’s biggest all-format match-winning players.