KSBBA plans IPL-style league

 Following on the lines of cricket leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), the Karnataka State Basketball Association (KSBBA), on Thursday, announced its plans of starting a basketball league to promote the game in the State.

Addressing the media at the curtain raiser of the 66th Senior National Basketball Championships here, the secretary of the KSBA, K Govindaraj, said that the State association was close to finalising its plans for the proposed basketball league.

“We have been working on this idea for some time now, and we are confident of organising the first season of the Karnataka Basketball League (KBL) in March,” said Govindaraj.

“We want to ensure that the sport is played on a competitive level in every part of Karnataka. For this, we are planning to divide the league into two legs. It will first be played at a zonal level, where the four zones (north, south, east and west) will see a participation of maximum eight teams in each zone.

“The second leg will see the top two teams from each zone competing for the league title here in Bengaluru,” he added.

Former Indian international, Reginald Rajan, said that such a league will help the State in tapping potential talent in different corners of Karnataka.

“Basketball is very popular sport in Karnataka. Every school, every college, every sporting complex in the State has a basketball court. This shows the kind of attention the sport gets,” he said.

“I believe a league like this will provide the upcoming talent with a platform to display his skills and get noticed among the big boys,” he added.

Meanwhile, Govindaraj, who is also the president of the Basketball Federation of India stated that the national federation was also mulling options of a similar league at the national level.