India’s Elite Pro Basketball League to feature 12 teams
Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL), to-be-launched later this year, will be India’s only Professional Basketball League in the 5x5 format
Attractive Player salaries – highest in the basketball circuit so far on offer, besides bonuses, prize money to top teams, players and coaches
EPBL is being organized by Elite Sports India (ESI)–India’s largest Professional, University and High School Sports Company– best known for conducting the national AIU championships
Mumbai, 16th April 2022: India’s much-awaited 5x5 Pro Basketball League, the Elite Pro Basketball League, will feature twelve teams.
This announcement was made by Mr. Sunny Bhandarkar, CEO of Elite Pro Basketball Pvt. Ltd.
“Originally we planned for eight franchises, but seeing the overwhelming response – we received over 450 registrations – we decided to expand to 12 teams,” Mr. Bhandarkar said.
The Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL) Season 1 is scheduled to tip-off later this year.
12 Franchises
All the team names, logos and jerseys have already been revealed on EPBL’s official Instagram and Facebook pages. “The franchises – Punjab Gladiators, Jaipur Giants, Kochi Pachers, Delhi Dominators, Lucknow Swarm, Hyderabad Hoops, Mumbai Stars, Chandigarh Conquerors, Pune Pythons, Bengaluru Stallions, Ahmedabad Aces and Chennai Turbos – have been drawn from the four corners of India to maximize regional support from the local communities,” Mr. Bhandarkar explained.
A special signing event was organized on 3rd March 2022 in Mumbai where key players also posed for photoshoots in their new jerseys.
Attractive Player Salaries
“With our tagline of ‘only the best, only the elite’, we are excited by the marquee talent we have already signed in our very first season,” Mr Bhandarkar said. “To this end, we are offering the highest ever salaries to players and coaches, apart from prize money and bonuses to the top teams and performers.”
The key players from10 of the 12 teams have already been announced, and include big names like India international Pratham Singh (Pune Pythons) and popular Telugu actor/athlete Arvind Krishna (Hyderabad Hoops).
New Opportunities
Speaking about the opportunities Mr Bhandarkar said, “We are providing the athletes a platform from which they were deprived since the UBA times. We are also organizing selection trials in the first week of May for players to put their best foot forward.”
“Further details – such as remaining player names, Season 1 dates and venue– will be disclosed in coming days,” Mr. Bhandarkar said. “We will also be launching a League website soon.”
About Elite Pro Basketball Pvt Ltd
Elite Pro Basketball Pvt Ltd was incorporated in February 2022 under the directorship of Mr Sunny Bhandarkar and Mr Pranav Prabhu. It is owned and operated by Elite Sports India (ESI) which manages a portfolio of sports industry businesses in India at both the professional and collegiate level. ESI is India’s largest Professional, University and High School Sports Company that aims to create a pathway from the grassroots to the professional levels. ESI is best known for conducting the prestigious Association of Indian Universities (AIU) events across multiple sporting disciplines.