'We see EPBL becoming the home of Basketball in India': Elite Pro Basketball CEO Sunny Bhandarkar Interview

The game of Basketball is still at a nascent stage in India. Despite its worldwide popularity, the culture of hoops is sometimes underwhelming when you compare it with other major sports which rule this country.

But things may take an upward turn in the coming days. The arrival of the Elite Pro Basketball League has already made an upsurge and is eyeing to make a change in the dynamics of the game in India. MyKhel caught up with their vibrant CEO Sunny Bhandarkar recently, where he envisioned the game and its future in India.

EPBL is currently a 16-team tournament which just completed its pre-season. The season is supposed to take place in the coming months and together with the right kind of support, EPBL can fly high and open a new dimension of sports in this country.

Check out the extract of the Interview-

What was the concept of the Elite Pro Basketball League and how it started?

Sunny Bhandarkar: We had a plan for a basketball tournament long back. It initially started with 4 teams, but now it has 16 teams in it. We have many top players of this country joining the league and the pre-season has made a fantastic start as well. People in India follow NBA but due to the lack of infrastructure in India, they fear making a career out of it. We plan to change that.

What are your plans with EPBL and how do you want to move forward with it?

Sunny Bhandarkar: We have already made some radical changes in it. We are providing decent salary to the players which was unheard of. Because professional security requires monetary assurance and stability, we are providing it and our investors are also whole-heartedly behind the process.

Indian international basketball players are in it and we have also decided to have at least one university player be a part of the starting lineup. We contacted many colleges and universities and have got positive responses. We are planning out the season around August and we will conduct both men's and women's matches simultaneously.

The 16 teams that took part in the EPBL pre-season had representatives across all the country. But there is a certain tweak in the team's names which is kind of an excellent move by the league. Instead of a team named with the prefix of the city Kolkata, Eastern Tigers are represented in the league.

When asked about this concept, Sunny Bhandarkar said, "There are people in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur who are fond of the game and we decided to name the team Eastern Tigers to promote inclusivity for all."

What are the broadcasting plans of the first season of the EPBL?

MyKhel then went on to ask him how he feels about the broadcast of the first season across India. The pre-season was streamed through their YouTube channel, but a national level broadcasting partner will yield massive exposure and promotion of the league across the country.

"We are already talking with some elite broadcasters and are hopeful of cracking a deal soon," he said.

How do you think the elite pro league is going to take the next step?

Sunny Bhandarkar: The Next Step is to shape the Main Season into a Sports meets Entertainment festival in India. We are aware that the Basketball community demands and has been waiting for something huge. We are here to bridge that gap.

We will soon open our doors for sponsors, work on athlete management, enhance our training facilities, set up academies and work to create a systematic feeder system, just like the US. This goes in hand with the plan for the main season that starts towards the end of August.

How do you envision basketball emerging as a proper household sport in India?

Sunny Bhandarkar: In a report that Forbes dished out last year, the NBA had 24 million viewers in India which has accumulated about 85 million fans across the country now. So for me, if America has the NBA, India's soon got the EPB.

We see EPBL becoming the standalone brand & home of Basketball in India. EPBL will be a synonym to Indian Basketball very soon. We are on the right path and we trust the process, the results will be out there for everyone to see.