May you always shine like this: Nita Ambani lauds MI new recruit Kumar Kartikeya over phone win over RR
India Today
IPL 2022, RR vs MI: Kumar Kartikeya, who made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians on Saturday, bowled 9 dot balls and picked up the prized scalp of Sanju Samson as the 5-time champions outclassed Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai.
Having got an IPL contract only last week, Kumar Kartikeya was the start of the Mumbai Indians dressing room celebrations as the 5-time champions ended their wait for the first win of the IPL 2022 season in their ninth game on Saturday, April 30.
The left-arm 'everything' spinner made an impact on his debut for Mumbai Indians as he bowled 4 overs and gave away just 19 runs while picking up the big wicket of Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson. Kartikeya played a big role in helping Mumbai Indians restrict an all-powerful Rajasthan batting unit to just 158 in 20 overs.
Kartikeya was brought in as a replacement for Injured Mohd Arshad Khan only last week. The 24-year-old spinner from Uttar Pradesh had played nine first-class matches, 19 List A games, and eight T20s, picking 35, 18 and 9 wickets respectively, and was part of the net-bowling group for Mumbai Indians.
After impressing in the nets, the young left-arm spinner, who has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, flaunted his variations against RR at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. There were wrong'un, sliders, and even carrom balls as Rajasthan batters did not get a single loose ball from Kartikeya. He bowled as many as 9 dot balls in his 4-over spell.
On Saturday evening, Kartikeya got a call from Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani. The young left-arm spinner received heaps of praise from Mrs. Ambani who spoke to the impressive spinner over the phone as Mi were celebrating their victory at the dressing room.
A member of the support staff was seen telling Mrs Ambani that Kartikeya is a shy personality and he finds speaking more difficult than bowling.
