The upcoming India Basketball League (IBL) is all set to do with basketball what the Indian Premier League (IPL) did with cricket — build a complete entertainment product around the sport, and not just a professional sporting league, as per Jake Lush McCrum, its newly-appointed CEO.
“We want every match in our season to be an event. We will feature top artistes, up and coming DJs, an amazing hospitality experience, and, of course, a brilliant product. Basketball is an action-packed sport, with so many moments for celebration,” said McCrum, who joined IBL in July after eight successful years with Rajasthan Royals, where he played a pivotal role in the IPL franchise’s commercial growth, digital expansion and global positioning.
“My experience with Rajasthan Royals taught me the importance of building a strong fan-first culture, creating long-term commercial value, embracing innovation, and investing heavily in talent development. Those principles apply just as much to basketball as they do to cricket,” he added.
The timing of the country’s first professional basketball league — being developed by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and sports management company ACG Sports — is significant. Today, basketball is played by over 55 million people in India, and more than 100 million fans engage with the sport. IBL is scheduled to launch its inaugural season in early 2027.
Six participating cities have already been announced. ACG Sports will own and operate all the six teams for the first couple of years to keep quality and standards consistent.
IBL is aiming to deliver an aspirational, premium and highly entertaining sports experience from its very first season. On the court, fans can expect a compelling mix of India’s top talent and international stars. Off the court, the focus will be on high-quality production, engaging storytelling and digital-first fan experiences. “Whether you are in the arena or following the action through streaming or broadcast, IBL will be exciting, accessible, and really premium,” said McCrum.
According to McCrum, what excites him most, however, is the role fans will play in building this league. “From helping determine which cities take the court in Season 1 to influencing team identities and contributing in community initiatives, this isn’t a league being handed to fans fully formed. It’s a league being built with them, from the very beginning,” he added.
In terms of sponsorships and commercial partnerships, discussions are progressing strongly. “At this stage, what I can say is that we are seeing strong interest from brands that understand the huge potential of basketball and youth culture in India. Announcements are coming soon,” McCrum said.
According to him, if a league is going to be sustainable, it must invest in the product. “We have done exactly this by investing in the foundation first — a state-of-the-art high-performance centre (in Bengaluru) providing elite training and world-class infrastructure to the best basketball talent in India,” he said.
“The players will have been trained for over 15 months before the first season of IBL tips off. This gives us a much stronger platform to build from and the confidence to deliver a high-quality league,” he added.
The IBL comes at a time when many non-cricketing leagues have followed in the footsteps of the IPL’s business model and success. The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), which premiered in 2014, for instance, is now the second most watched sports league in India after the IPL.
Other sporting leagues creating waves include Indian Super League (ISL), Women’s Premier League (WPL), Prime Volleyball League (PVL), Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK), Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), Global Chess League (GCL) and Pro Panja League (PPL).
Just to get a sense of their popularity — the inaugural season of PKL was seen by 435 million viewers, second only to the 2014 IPL’s 552 million, while the first season final between Jaipur Pink Panthers and U-Mumba was watched by 86.4 million.
Similarly, the ISL — the sole recognised top-tier football league in India — had 157 million unique viewers in 2024-25. The inaugural edition of Women’s Premier League, meanwhile, in 2023 hit 50.8 million viewers in the first week and 67.8 million TV reach in the first 14 matches; and in 2024 hit ~103 million TV reach in the first ~15 games, as per a 2025 KPMG-Sportstar report.
In October, India is hosting the World Armwrestling Championship, which will give the country’s Pro Panja League (PPL) a shot in the arm. Started by actor-couple Parvin Dabbas and Preeti Jhangiani, PPL has had two seasons so far — New Delhi in 2023, and Gwalior in 2025.
McCrum clarifies at the outset that their ambition is not to copy the IPL, but to “build the best basketball league for India and the broader Indian diaspora”. “What excites me is that basketball is already a truly global sport that resonates with young audiences, is digital-first, culturally relevant and fast-paced. These characteristics align exceptionally well with India’s demographics. If we consistently deliver a great product, create stars and engage fans authentically, there’s absolutely no reason why IBL can’t become one of India’s biggest sporting properties over time,” he added.
According to McCrum, IPL didn’t succeed because it copied another league — it succeeded because it built something that fits cricket, fits India, fits the moment. “That’s exactly what we are trying to do with basketball,” he added.