NCAA Division 1 basketball players to compete in India's franchise basketball league

The Indian basketball scene is set to get a boost with the launch of the Pro International Basketball League (lnBL PRO U-25), which is set to commence on January 15 next year with six teams fighting for the championship. 

The tournament is being organised by Captains Professional Basketball Pvt Ltd (CPBL) in partnership with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

“We are going to have 36 Indian players and 36 foreign players. There will be players who have participated in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in USA,” said Parveen Batish, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of lnBL to www.thedelhijunction.com

“At the moment Indian basketball is at a stage where it cannot compete at the level NBA. If we were to bring the best of the best then definitely, none of the Indian players will get to play. So we have to first bring lower level international players so that the Indians can compete and improve. As the years will roll on and Indians improve we will keep increasing the quality of foreign players here,” added Batish.  

Each team will have a head coach and as assistant coach who both will be foreigners whereas there will also be an Indian coach, Batish said further.

The teams will be based out of Hyderabad, Chennai, Gujarat, Mumbai, Punjab and Delhi.

The composition of each team includes six Indian players under 25 of age and six international players.

Post commencement, one game will be played each day, culminating with the final fours in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of March, 2025. The players will go in for auction on January 9, 2025, and will feature both Indian and international talent from USA, Australia, New Zealand and others.

Tags : Basketball, InBL, Parveen Batish, Abu Dhabi