IPL 2025: MI-LSG match to be dedicated to Education and Sports for All initiative

The annual ESA game is one of the biggest highlights of the IPL season every year for the Mumbai Indians, with thousands of spirited children from NGOs across the city lighting up the stadium with their infectious energy and dreams

Hyderabad: Mumbai Indians’ IPL game against Lucknow Super Giants, scheduled for April 27 (Sunday) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, will be dedicated to the Education and Sports for All (ESA) initiative championed by Mrs Nita M Ambani.

The annual ESA game is one of the biggest highlights of the IPL season every year for the Mumbai Indians, with thousands of spirited children from NGOs across the city lighting up the stadium with their infectious energy and dreams.

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Mrs Nita M Ambani said people who have been with the Mumbai Indians know our next game would be very special with the underprivileged children coming, and the energy would be really special. “So please, put up your best show for them. They wait for years in line to get to come and see one match,” she said. “We give them food parcels – from the time they board the bus till the time they come here and they go back, so there are four meals a day that we provide for”, Nita Ambani said.

She also recalled a moving experience from a past ESA Day. “I was sitting in the stands with all of them, and this girl wasn’t eating much. She was picking at her food. I asked her why, and she said, ‘I’m saving it for my brother, because he’s never tasted cake in his life.’

These are the things that we want to support. We want to inspire these kids, that in spite of coming from different backgrounds, you can achieve wonders,” the Mumbai Indians owners explained. “This is a very special game for me and for all of you who have been a part of this for many years. You can be the inspiration for these children and show them that they can be whatever they dream to be,” she said.

A sunlit Sunday afternoon will see the iconic Wankhede Stadium transformed into a sea of blue and gold, with around 19,000 children from diverse NGOS supported by Reliance Foundation across Mumbai, including 200 children with special needs, cheering for their favourite cricketers. The match will mark the first-ever live match experience for most of the kids and a memory they will cherish for life.

Since its inception, Reliance Foundation’s sports initiatives have impacted the lives of over 23 million children and youth across India, with ESA playing a key role in nurturing both talent and aspiration.