When two of the finest teams in the country face each other, fans expect fireworks. But when the two teams merge into one, it calls for doomsday for every other opponent in the nation. This is exactly what may happen in the foreseeable future for Indian basketball. Tamil Nadu were already the hottest team in Indian hoops after they
won the Men's gold medal at the National Championship in Delhi back in March. Now, one of the most talented clubs in India - ONGC - has announced that it will be shifting base from Dehradun to Chennai, which means that Tamil Nadu will be boosted with all the ONGC players who had been representing the state of Uttarakhand until now.
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| Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas.com |
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation - or ONGC - employ some of India's top players including present and former internationals such as Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amrit Pal Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Trideep Rai, Murali Krishna and many more. ONGC have won most of the Men's titles in most All India invitational tournaments in recent years and their stars helped guide Uttarakhand
to the 2013 National Championship gold, too. Earlier this year, Uttarakhand finished fourth in the Senior Nationals, while Tamil Nadu took home the gold.
The Asian Age recently reported that ONGC -
the 2014 Federation Cup champions - will be shifting both their strong basketball and volleyball teams to Chennai, bolstering the national champion Tamil Nadu sides in both squads. According to the report, the players have been ordered to report at the Chennai office on June 13.
Although no players have appeared on record, the report - written by C. Santhosh Kumar - quoted a key member of the ONGC basketball squad who said, "The [ONGC] management always wanted better exposure [for] its team and I reckon it's the reason behind shifting base to Chennai, where basketball and volleyball are more vibrant than Dehradun. Even though talks started a year ago, receiving the order on Tuesday evening was a big surprise."
Tamil Nadu's basketball fraternity will be glad to be spoiled for choice now in choosing their Men's state teams, and it should make for some healthy competition. Currently, the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is the only public sector company in Chennai that regularly recruits players. IOB have done fairly well on the national stage, though, and many of their players were in TN's national winning side. Stars like Rikin Pethani, Pratham Singh, SP Venkatesh, and more will be contending for their spots for Tamil Nadu after their recent successes.
"I understand that the ONGC board has approved the change of base," said L. Suren, Treasurer of the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association (TNBA), "If they come to Chennai, it will create more job opportunities for Tamil Nadu players and help develop the sport here."
But how soon could ONGC players start suiting up for Tamil Nadu? Rules state that a player must reside in a state for at least six months before being eligible to represent it. Suren added that, "in this case, apart from the residential status, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) can decide straightaway because the entire team will be moving from one place to another."
But not everyone is happy about this move. In a report published on
The Hindu today, some of ONGC's basketball players have expressed disappointment over the move from Dehradun to Chennai.
Via The Hindu
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, V.K. Mahendru, Head, Corporate Sports (New Delhi) said: “As far as volleyball is concerned we are hopeful that it will be in Chennai, but when it comes to basketball, we are yet to make a call. The final decision will be taken within 10-15 days. Whatever we do, we will do it in the best interest of the team.”
A senior basketball player said most of the players were not happy with the move.
He argued that, with Chennai being home to good teams such as IOB, ICF, Customs and Indian Bank, not many ONGC players will get the chance to represent Tamil Nadu.
“We have two cement courts in our residential colony (in Dehradun). Where will we now practice in Chennai? And the weather too is hot,” he said.
Another player said: “They’ve decided. We have no choice. We have got the orders to join duty in Chennai on June 13 after playing in an all-India tournament in Hyderabad.”
He said the Tamil Nadu team selection will now be tougher with so many good hoopsters.
“While Tamil Nadu basketball team will be very strong, other teams will not be so.”
You can only have 12 players in a team, and the presence of ONGC players fighting for their spot against other IOB/Tamil Nadu players should make for some fascinating competition in the state. Star players will be snubbed, but overall, it could make for one hell of a roster top to bottom for TN. They will become the Indian hoops version of a 'super-team'; and the pressure will be on rivals from Punjab, Services, or Indian Railways to step up a gear. The losers of his move will unfortunately be Uttarakhand, who will be left with little without the ONGC talent and could experience a major drop in national rankings next year.
In the Men's final, Chennai's Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) finally ended ONGC's (Dehradun) reign at the top, winning 62-43 to win the gold. IOB shifted to high gear on the defensive end after halftime and were able to run away to the comfortable victory. The IOB squad featured several top names in the national basketball circuit, including Prasanna Venkatesh, Gnanasekaran Sivabalan, and Rikin Pethani, who led all scorers with 17 in the final. ONGC can find silver lining in their loss thanks to positive performances by experienced forward Yadwinder Singh and a return to basketball by star player Vishesh Bhriguvanshi after a 9-month lay-off to his torn ACL. 
