The Indian National Basketball League (INBL) is the open-entry off-season developmental basketball league in India, organized and by the HAI and Basketball Federation of India (BFI).
History
The league's founder has been Headstart Arena India, a Punjab-based recreational, cultural and sporting activities company which also has business interests in Australia. They have been granted a five-year license by the BFI to run the competition and also help promote the 3x3 version of the game.
Distinguished from other leagues, the INBL operates with a closed setup, allowing only Indian players to participate. By doing so, the league aims to strengthen grassroots-level talent from within the nation, nurturing them into future basketball professionals. K. Govindaraj, BFI president, said the INBL's aim was to provide players with additional competitive games to improve their standards towards the Elite Pro Basketball League and look to qualify for competitions such as the Olympics and World Cups.
The inaugural season was held in 2022 across three rounds in three different cities, namely Kochi, Pune and Delhi. The Chennai Heat won the first-ever INBL championship after defeating the Bengaluru Kings in the finals, that were hosted in the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.