Excitement in the lead-up to the Indian Panthers' home debut in the national basketball league has been tempered by difficulties getting key players from the subcontinent to New Zealand in time for the team's first game in Auckland.
Player unavailability due to international commitments forced the Panthers to play their season opener against the Hawke's Bay Hawks in Napier on 12 March without any of the 10 Indian players named in the squad.
The Indian Basketball Federation recently called for an extended national camp in preparation for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, which has delayed the arrival of the Panthers' Indian players.
The FIBA Asia Cup, previously known as the FIBA Asia Championship, is a prestigious international tournament held every four years that features top men's national teams from Asia and Oceania.
"We've had a very short turnaround after our professional league in India, and India is trying to qualify for the Asia Cup, so the players had an extended camp," Indian Panthers chief executive Parveen Batish told RNZ at Auckland's Mahatma Gandhi Centre on Monday.
"We were delayed in terms of applying for their visas because we didn't know who and when they were going to be able to come."
Parveen Batish is chief executive of Indian Panthers. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Despite the uncertainty, Batish remained hopeful that four Indian players would arrive in New Zealand before the Panthers' first home game against the Franklin Bulls on Friday.
Posts on the team's Instagram account said some of the Indian players involved with the team included Lokendra Singh, Jaideep Rathore, Riyanshu Negi, Vaisakh Manoj, Aaron Varghese Blessen, Sejin Mathew and Tushal Singh.
The Panthers kicked off their National Basketball League campaign with a 112-78 loss to the Hawks.
However, they secured a win in the shorter Rapid League match, edging out the Hawks 36-35.
Rapid League games are played one hour before the main NBL games and follow a fast-paced format featuring four four-minute quarters. Up to seven players can be named on the bench, but starters from the main game are not eligible to participate.
"It's quite fitting that we're here at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre because Gandhi once said, 'In a gentle way, you can shake the world'," Batish said. "In our own way, we're trying to shake the world a little bit.
"We're not the South Auckland Panthers or Takanini Panthers - we're the Indian Panthers, which means our heritage is from India."
Indian Panthers jerseys hang on a wall at a community event celebrating the team's debut in the national basketball league on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
All contracts with Indian players have been signed, and Batish said their arrival was now just a matter of timing.
The franchise will field both a men's NBL team and a women's Tauihi team, featuring top national team players from India alongside talent from New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
Based in South Auckland, the team will call Takanini's Pulman Arena home.
Batish was eager to introduce a new cultural dimension to the league.
"This league has been running for 42 years with many successful teams and franchises," he said. "We want to add a different flavour to that."
Monday's event drew significant support from the Indian community.
"I think the Indian Panthers will gather a lot of support in South Auckland," said Daljeet Singh Sidhu, president of the NZ Sikh Games' organising committee.
"We're expecting a lot of spectators in Takanini."
Navtej Randhawa is a South Auckland community leader and former National Party candidate for Panmure- Ōtāhuhu. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Navtej Randhawa, a South Auckland community leader and former National Party candidate for Panmure- Ōtāhuhu, echoed the sentiment.
"I think this is great for the Indian community," Randhawa said.
"I've seen a lot of Indian players compete in local leagues, and now they have an opportunity to play at a higher level in a country where their forefathers once settled."
Randhawa believed the franchise would encourage more female participation in the sport.
Batish, meanwhile, was confident the Indian players would arrive soon.
"We're ready to fly them," he said. "We just have to press the button for the visa application, and then it will be done. We're hoping that will happen in the next 10 days."
