Indian Pickleball League kicks off with star-studded draft

The inaugural IPL announced its first Players’ Draft, with Mumbai, Hyderabad and Lucknow securing top stars

World No. 3 Quang Duong of Vietnam and USA’s Megan Fudge were the most sought after male and female foreign players and were snapped up by Mumbai Smashers and Hyderabad Royals. Lucknow Leopards went for top India male superstar Aditya Ruhela in the Players’ Draft for the inaugural edition of the Indian Pickleball League.

Vineet Jain, Managing Director, The Times Group (center) with Bengaluru Blasters

The inaugural Indian Pickleball League, launched by The Times Group and recognised as the country’s only national league sanctioned by the Indian Pickleball Association under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, will be played from from December 1 to 7 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi.

The six teams set to compete in the inaugural edition are Mumbai Smashers, Hyderabad Royals, Chennai Super Warriors, Capital Warriors Gurgaon, Bengaluru Blasters and Lucknow Leopards.

The Players’ Draft saw top players being picked by the six teams in three competitive groups: the Super Stars Pro International pool, the Super Stars Pro Indian pool, and the Rising Stars category, which features more than twenty of the nation’s most promising young talents.

Vineet Jain, Managing Director of The Times Group, with Team owners of Capital Warriors Gurgaon at the Player Draft

Vineet Jain, Managing Director, The Times Group, wished all teams the very best, saying, “Today’s Draft is a very special moment for the Indian Pickleball League. I am really excited how each one of you are going to shape the league going forward. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world as well as in India. And with your passion and dedication, I am sure we will make Pickleball the biggest sport after cricket.”

Pickleball is currently the fastest growing sport with over 5 million players globally and participation expected to touch one million in India itself by 2028.

(L- R) Vasanth Kalyan, CEO, Bengaluru Blasters; Anirudh Kumar from Mumbai Smashers; Robin Mangla from Capital Warriors Gurgaon; Vineet Jain, Managing Director, The Times Group; Shreya Agarwal, Owner Lucknow Leopards; Aditthya Ramakrishnan, Owner Hyderabad Warriors; Sohel M from Chennai Super Warriors; Suryaveersingh Bhullar, IPA President

Among the other teams, Bengaluru Blasters opted for Phuc Huynh of Vietnam as their top pick, Chennai Super warriors went with Netherlands’ female star player Roos Van Reek, while Hyderabad Royals put their faith in Megan Fudge, who plays and trains in USA and UK.