In a latest development, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has announced a monthly pay scheme of Rs. 75,000 for the country’s top basketball players. The list includes key names like Arjuna Awardee Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, former captain Amritpal Singh, and Former NBA G-League player Amjyot Singh in the men’s category.
India’s tallest women’s basketball player Poonam Chaturvedi, D1 college player Sanjana Ramesh, and NBA BWB alumni Siya Deodhar were on the list for the women’s category.
According to the letter shared by the BFI, a total of 40 players, including both male and female, were selected by the selection committee in consultation with the head coach, a total of Rs 3.6 crores annually will be allotted to pay these players a monthly remuneration. The categories of the players might change based on their performance in the coming nationals.
Some key players like Sejin Mathew, Raspreet Singh Sandhu, Shireen Limaye, Sahil seem to be missing from the list, but the apex body has released only the “Category A” list but according to the letter, Category B and C will be released in the coming time.
| Men | |
| Arvind Annadurai | Tamil Nadu |
| Vishesh Bhriguvanshi | ONGC |
| Amritpal Singh | Punjab |
| Amjyot Singh | Punjab |
| Palpreet Singh | Indian Railways |
| Muin Bek Hafeez | Tamil Nadu |
| Arvind Kumar Muthukrishnan | Tamil Nadu |
| Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon | Indian Railways |
| Princepal Singh | Indian Railways |
| Pranav Prince | Tamil Nadu |
| Prashant Singh Rawat | Tamil Nadu |
| P Baladaneshwar | Tamil Nadu |
| Harsh Dagar | Uttar Pradesh |
| Kushal Singh | Uttar Pradesh |
| Amarendra Nayak | Indian Railways |
| Kunwar Gurbaz Singh Sandhu | Punjab |
| Vaishak K Manoj | Kerala |
| Piyush Meena | Rajasthan |
| Pratyanshu Tomar | Karnataka |
| M Lokeshwaran | Tamil Nadu |
| Women | |
| Annesha Cleetus | Kerala |
| Harshitha KB | Indian Railways |
| Pushpa Senthil Kumar | Indian Railways |
| T Darshini | Tamil Nadu |
| Poonam Chaturvedi | Indian Railways |
| M Nishanthi | Tamil Nadu |
| Nima Doma | Indian Railways |
| Kavitha Jose | Kerala |
| Sreekala Rani | Kerala |
| Vaishnavi Yadav | Indian Railways |
| Sanjana Ramesh | Karnataka |
| Kavya Singla | Punjab |
| Manmeet Kaur | Punjab |
| Anumaria | Kerala |
| Sruthy R | Tamil Nadu |
| Sathya R | Tamil Nadu |
| Siya Deodhar | Maharashtra |
| Rashi Kothani | Indian Railways |
| Susan Florentina | Kerala |
| Ishika Choudhary | Delhi |
In a separate statement, the BFI also announced that going ahead Categories “B” and “C”—which will include players selected from the upcoming National Championships—will be introduced. Whether both these categories will also include 20 players each remains uncertain for now. Additionally, the statement also states that national body is also working to make possible remuneration for referees as well as Indian coaches in future.
The BFI also informed that it, in collaboration with its partners, has plans to introduce a new domestic league, which will provide “platform for our players to excel and gain more recognition.”
No, according to, the now-defunct, Hoopistani blog, in 2011, BFI’s Secretary General Harish Sharma announced that all the players who have represented the country at different levels would be divided into three categories – A, B and C – these players will receive Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. There is no information is this was discontinued or remains active.
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