CHENNAI: Senior India men's basketball team captain Palpreet Singh Brar stands at 6 feet 11 inches and his figure could be intimidating but is soft-spoken. On court, however, his demeanour changes. He is loud and aggressive. As captain of India team he needs to be so.
While speaking with this daily on the sidelines of the Senior National Basketball championships here he stressed on the the importance of having more exposure trips abroad to help them gain confidence.
Last November, India lost to Saudi Arabia twice — one in Riyadh (51-75) and another here in Chennai (57-81) — in the first round of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Here in the city representing the Railways, the India captain will lead the team in two big assignments starting next month. Placed in Group D of World Cup Asia qualifiers, the team will face Qatar on February 28 and Lebanon on March 3 this year. Coached by Scott Flemming from the United States, the team relies more on three-point shot making to score points. However, in both those games, their three-point field goal percentage did not go past the 20 per cent mark (18.3 per cent in Riyadh & 20 per cent in Chennai) according to FIBA statistics.
Palpreet, who hails from Punjab, felt that a camp for the players lasting just for a month would not be enough for them, if they are to know each other better. "Before the Asia Cup, we played window matches against Bahrain and Iraq, before both those games, we got an exposure trip to Dubai and Doha. With these trips, the chemistry develops and the confidence in players increases. But before the World Cup qualifiers, we did not get the exposure trips like these. That was our biggest lacking point," he said.
Coach Flemming, before India took on Saudi Arabia on November 30 here last year, had said that he did not find any time to work with the players as they travelled abroad to play in other leagues. Palpreet echoed similar concerns, and stressed the need for longer camps. "Twenty-day or a month-long camps are not enough, I believe. If you want to perform on a bigger stage, you should perform in good exposure games like those in Dubai. In practise games, we only get to play with the junior players. It is them who develop from it, not us. That is the biggest factor," he explained. In a bid to bridge that gap, the officials from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) have said that the India Basketball League — which was unveiled last year — will begin later this year.
"Like our (BFI) president said, the aim is to go to the Olympics. For that, we need a lot of exposure trips. Teams like Lebanon and Iran go to the US and Europe for practise games for 2-3 months. We also want the league to start as soon as possible," he said.
Railways, K'taka in Q/Fs
Both the men's and women's team of Railways, the men's team of Karnataka men and Kerala Women — all with 3 wins in their respective groups — have confirmed their spots to the quarterfinals of the Championship on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu men and women's team have won their first two games. Both teams are a win away from sealing their spots in the last eight. Select results: Women Group A: Railways 113 bt Maharashtra 66; Karnataka 103 bt Chhattisgarh 50. Group B: Kerala 102 bt West Bengal 48. Men: Group A: Karnataka 100 bt Rajasthan 79; Group B: Railways 94 bt Chandigarh 43; Tamil Nadu 101 bt Rajasthan 68.
