IPL 2022 | 'May you always shine like this' - Nita Ambani hails MI’s charm ring

On April 30, Mumbai Indians finally secured its first victory of the Indian Premier League 2022 season against Rajasthan Royals at DY Patil Stadium by chasing down the target of 159 runs with four balls to spare.

In that fixture, the left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya made his IPL debut and grabbed an opportunity with both his hands to finish with figures of 1/19 off four overs. He took an all-important wicket of Royals captain Sanju Samson and put the opposition under pressure with his economical spells.

After his match-winning performance, Kartikeya was felicitated by the MI team management in the dressing room. The bowling coach Shane Bond did the honours and put a badge on the youngster’s jersey.

In the video posted by MI’s official Twitter account, the team owner Nita Ambani expressed her thoughts on the performance of Kartikeya during a phone call, which the entire players and support staff heard.

“You played really well. Congratulations, and may you always shine like this,” said Nita Ambani.

Captain Rohit Sharma also opined on the performances of youngsters Kartikeya and Hrithik Shokeen, terming them courageous and hailed their urge to do well for the team.

“Both of these guys are quite courageous. When you speak to them, you know that they want to do something special and they don’t want to go into hiding. It gives me the confidence to bowl them at any given stage,” Rohit added.

Kartikeya, who was signed as a replacement for Mohammad Arshad a few days back, has undoubtedly filled the team’s gap in the middle-overs.

Domestically, the youngster has been featuring for Uttar Pradesh since the 2018/19 season. He has picked up 63 wickets in 37 appearances across all formats of the game.