Elite Pro Basketball League aims to professionalise sport in country, take India to NBA, Olympics: League's CEO Sunny Bhandarkar

New Delhi [India], December 5 : Sunny Bhandarkar, the CEO of the Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL) aims to create a "professional and competitive" environment for the sport in the country that would ultimately witness Indian players taking part in USA's National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Olympics.
The league, which is the first-ever franchise league in the sport from India, was formed in 2022 and the dates for the first season dates are yet to be announced.
Speaking to ANI about the league, which also has a women's competition, the Elite Women's Pro Basketball League (EWPBL), Sunny said that the idea about the sport stemmed from "deep passion for the sport" and "need to elevate basketball in India to new heights".
"Basketball has immense untapped potential in our country, but it lacked a structured, professional ecosystem for players to showcase their talent on a bigger stage. With leagues around the world demonstrating how the sport can drive youth & fan engagement, community development, and economic growth, we realized it was time for India to have its own private professional 5v5 (five players a side) basketball league," he said.
"The EPBL is designed not just to promote basketball but to revolutionize it by creating a competitive, professional environment that is scalable, sustainable, and inclusive, laying the foundation for a basketball culture in India. India can win a medal at the Olympics in Basketball," he added.
Sunny also said that India has a long history of basketball with "significant grassroots participation", however, the infrastructure and ecosystem has not caught up the pace of the interest of the sport.
"We know of fans who wake up early in the morning to watch the NBA basketball games.
While we have talented players, limited access to high-quality training facilities, professional coaching, and competitive leagues has hindered that development," he added.
Sunny said that many of indoor courts and training centres in the country need modernisation to catch up with global standards and also added that the sport has not got the same financial backing like other sports in the country.
"With better planning and adhering to modern day needs of the players, the basketball scene can improve in the country," he added.
Sunny said that EPBL and its women's league aim to provide a chance to both men and women players to compete in a professional setup.
"We aim to nurture and retain talent within the country and create heroes for India. The league collaborates with local and national authorities to ensure games are hosted at top-notch venues, with the best facilities for the players," he added.
He also said that the league aims to provide proper compensation, contracts, salaries, incentives, sponsorship deals, prize money to players so that they can carve out a financially successful career in the sport. Players would be picked through a "feeder system", scouting talent from schools, colleges, and academies, and ensuring a seamless progression to the professional league, he explained.
Besides this, in a move to fully professionalise the Indian basketball scene for all its participants further, the league wants to produce job opportunities for coaching, refereeing, event management, sports analytics, and marketing, creating a larger basketball economy, he said.
"Our academies are already working on sharpening the future talents and scouting the future players. We want to bring basketball to mainstream audiences through digital platforms and live broadcasts, we are changing how the sport is perceived in India. We want to make sure we are on par with the IPL, Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) and (Indian Super League) ISL Leagues in India in terms of broadcast," he added.
Sunny said that the long-term strategy of the league is to expand it to more cities, include grassroots programs and investing in in technology and analytics to enhance the level of play.
"The ultimate goal is to see Indian players thrive not just domestically but also in global leagues like the NBA and WNBA (women's NBA). We believe the Indian National Team as well can clinch a medal at the Olympics someday," he signed off.