Indian Basketball Player's Association (IBPA) officially kick-started in New Delhi

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. In basketball terms, tactical necessity arises when a defensive scheme fails on an exceptional offensive player, or vice versa. It is in these cases that the best coaches and players invent a solution, or make an adjustment to turn things around in their favour and give birth to a new system.

In India, the best basketball players in the country have had a different, more pressing necessity than the one that troubles them tactically on court. For years, the federations and associations that have represented the players at the state or national level have failed to properly represent the individuals that make the heart and soul of the game: the player's themselves. In more recent months, the Basketball Federation of India has been further rocked by political infighting, leaving Indian Basketball headless and coach-less with the FIBA Asia Championships looming in the near future.

Finally, these necessities have led the former players of the nation to a fantastic invention. Aiming to give a voice to Indian basketball players - current and past - the Indian Basketball Players Association (IBPA) was officially formed at the Indian Medical Association hall in New Delhi on Sunday, June 7. The first meeting of the IBPA was attended by various legends of Team India, including several Arjuna awardees, Dhyan Chand awardees, an Asian all-star player, former Indian captains and a number of international and national players.

The members nominated Sajjan Singh, (Arjuna Awardee) as President of IBPA, Jayasankar Menon (Asian All Star Basketball Player) as General Secretary and Ashok Sharma (National Player and FIBA Commissioner) as Treasurer. Abbas Moontasir has been named IBPA's Chairman Vice chairpersons are Manmohan Singh and Suman Sharma, all of whom are Arjuna Awardees. President Sajjan Sajjan welcomed this initiative to promote basketball but cautioned all the members of IBPA not to end up into politics of any kind.

Jonathan Rego, India's first FIBA agent, said that it is the need of the hour to recognize the contributions of Indian Basketball and to expose young Indian players to the contributions of Indian Basketball legends. "Through this association we would also like to bring to light that playing basketball can lead to a stable, lucrative corporate career."

Shiba Maggon, former Indian captain, suggested that we should bring the legends to the coaching centers to show case their signature move to the kids to improve the fundamentals of the game. It will also increase the interest of the kids to follow the game more.

Jayasankar Menon stated that the IBPA is by the players for the players. He thanked everyone who rendered support to this initiative and requested to provide commitment to achieve the objective of IBPA.