New Delhi:Indian basketball has received a notable boost with the launch of the Pro International Basketball League (INBL Pro) by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) on Wednesday. The league is set to commence on January 15 and will feature six teams competing at five different venues: Punjab, Gujarat, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, with the final rounds scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi in March.

An auction for the InBL will take place on January 9, showcasing Indian and international players under the age of 25. Each team will also include two international players over the age of 25 who will serve as mentors. The scouting of Indian players is expected to occur primarily during the basketball Nationals, which will be held from January 5-12 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

“We aim to cultivate local heroes from these athletes,” stated Parveen Batish, the CEO of InBL Pro. “Basketball is already ingrained in our culture, so it is essential to provide the public with something to engage with.”

“The challenge lies in the fact that basketball is typically played on wooden courts or indoors internationally. Here, due to insufficient infrastructure, many Indians play outdoors on concrete surfaces.”

The six franchises will be located in Delhi, Punjab, Chennai, Gujarat, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. It was announced that the top 10-12 Indian players from the InBL will form a new team called the Indian Panthers, which will compete in the New Zealand Basketball League (NZ NBL).

As part of this partnership, Indian players will train in Auckland and represent India for five months, competing against other professional teams in international matches.

“New Zealand has a population of five million, yet we excel in basketball. Collaborating with a country that has 1.4 billion people, half of whom are under 25, is incredibly exciting for us,” remarked Justin Nelson, commissioner of the NZ NBL.

“To be in a position to assist a nation of 1.4 billion people while coming from a country of five million is truly exhilarating.”

While the NBA has seen representation from players of Indian origin, such as Satnam Singh and Sim Bhullar.

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