Talent Factory: A Peek At Mumbai Indians' Scouting Process

The IPL has evolved over the years and so has the template of talent identification. There was a time when mere gut feeling was enough but into its 18th summer, the popular league now has a method to the madness, which Mumbai Indians have pioneered. Five-time champions MI have unearthed plethora of talent, who graduated to the India level and played with distinction while many lit the IPL stage with their coruscating show. The latest ones being Kerala's Vignesh Puthur and Ashwani Kumar form Punjab.

It is an ode to the scouting system which most of the other franchises now follow but MI certainly remains the pioneer.

The PTI spoke to people, who are aware of MI's scouting and selection method.

It is a big team that works under head coach Mahela Jayawardene, Director of Cricket Rahul Sanghvi and Chief Data Performance Manager Dhananjai CKM (2011 WC winning Indian team's analyst).

These are the men who manage and modify the process.

"This is what Mumbai Indians is known for. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the scouts of Mumbai Indians. They have worked very hard. Rahul (Sanghvi, Director of Cricket), DJ with all his stats and the entire scouting team," team owner Nita Ambani said after Puthur and Ashwani became the latest youngsters to catch public imagination.

The PTI takes a look at how MI's scouting process works.

How to pick events for scouting?

There are two parts to it. The one is for immediate requirement of players, who can be called for trials and if satisfied put into the auction pool. The second is talent monitoring, especially at the age-group level without making a fuss about it.

Thanks to the BCCI, the state-run T20 leagues are proving to be a hub of T20 talents. Vignesh came from KPL (Kerala