Chennai appears to be strong favourite for INBL title

After weeks of uncertainty and a last-minute change of venue, the Basketball Federation of India’s inaugural National League – the INBL – begins here on Sunday, and Chennai appears to be a strong favourite to take the top honours.

Chennai players during their final training session.

As the Chandigarh players walked into the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Saturday evening, they watched the Chennai stars’ last training session closely.

After weeks of uncertainty and a last-minute change of venue, the Basketball Federation of India’s inaugural National League – the INBL – begins here on Sunday, and Chennai appears to be a strong favourite to take the top honours.

Tamil Nadu is the National champion and has also won the National Games title in Gujarat recently. And seven players from TN’s National Games team are on the Chennai side.

“Chandigarh is strong too, they also have a few Indian players,” Indian captain Muin Bek Hafeez, the Chennai star, told Sportstar on Saturday.

The league has six teams – Chennai Heat, Delhi Dribblers, Mumbai Titans, Bengaluru Kings, Chandigarh Warriors and Kochi Tigers – and there will be three matches on all five days in the Kochi leg, the first of the three INBL league legs. The next two league legs will be played in Jaipur and Pune with the final playoffs in Bengaluru in January next year.

The INBL has attracted some of the country’s best players and almost all the internationals who played in the recent FIBA World Cup’s Asian qualifiers, but still, there is a feeling that things are being done in a hurry, including a last-minute change of coaches in a couple of teams.

There is another 12-team national pro league being planned by a private organiser, which could happen by the end of this year or early next year. Many players have already been selected for the new league, which has promised big money for the players.

That could be the reason for the BFI’s hurry to conduct the INBL. And the BFI has not stopped players from signing for the other new league too.

“The more leagues we have, the better for us,” said former international Basil Philip, who has signed for the new ‘private’ league.

The country’s basketball players have waited for a long time for a strong pro league. Now, they appear to have many choices.