Indian Pickleball League: Six Franchises Announced for Inaugural Season in Delhi
First Indian Pickleball League season to kick off on December 1
Pickleball has grown in popularity exponentially across India over the past few years, and the Times Group, in coordination with the Indian Pickleball Association, has now confirmed that the first season of the Indian Pickleball League (IPBL) is just days away from commencing.
Set to run between December 1-7 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi, the debut campaign of the IPBL was originally expected to feature five franchises, but a sixth team confirmed their participation on Sunday.
Contesting the inaugural season of the IPBL are Gurgaon Capital Warriors, Mumbai Smashers, Bengaluru Blasters, Chennai Super Warriors and the Hyderabad Royals. The Lucknow Leopards were the final team to enter the tournament.
IPBL will feature world-class international players similar to the Indian Premier League in a city versus city format. Welcoming the teams at the ceremony in Chennai over the weekend, Managing Director of the Times Group, Vineet Jain, said:
“These teams represent the scale, ambition, and reach that define the Indian Pickleball League. Together, they bring a fresh competitive spirit that will help make pickleball a modern fixture in India’s sporting landscape.”
The participating teams have also revealed big-name brand ambassadors, including Femina Miss India World 2024 Nikita Porwal (Hyderabad Royals), Miss India Rajasthan 2024 Vaishnavi Sharma (Capital Warriors Gurgaon), and Miss Supernational Asia 2023 Pragnya Ayyagari (Chennai Super Warriors).
World-class talent recruited for Season 1 of IPBL
The IPBL is set to bring together some of the best pickleball players from around the globe to contest in the league, and last weekend, the first Indian Pickleball League Draft was conducted as teams look to assemble their squads for the inaugural campaign.
Among the headline draft selections for the tournament was world number three Quang Duong of Vietnam, who was one of the most highly sought-after players, but was snapped up by the Mumbai Smashes with their first pick.
American pro Megan Fudge was another big name at the draft, and Hyderabad Royals wasted no time in securing her signature, while the Lucknow Leopards signed Aditya Ruhela, who is the number one-ranked men’s player in India.
Other notable signings included Australian star Mitchell Hargreaves (Chennai Super Warriors), Puch Huynh and Roos van Reek (both to Bengaluru Blasters), as well as Jack Munro and Emilia Schmidt (both to Capital Warriors Gurgaon).
