NBA opens first academy in cricket-mad India

NEW DELHI: The National Basketball Association (NBA) opened its first academy in India on Tuesday, hoping the facility on the outskirts of Delhi will trigger the game´s growth in a country obsessed with cricket.

"The opening of our first academy in India is an important milestone in the NBA´s efforts to grow basketball in India and demonstrates our commitment to developing talent and shaping the game´s future here," NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said in a statement.

It follows the launch of academies in Hangzhou, Jinan and Urumqi in China and in Thies in Senegal.

The NBA´s plans also include launching a global academy in Canberra.

A total of 21 male players are to receive NBA-level coaching and scholarship at the academy.

The number of international players in the NBA has been increasing, with a record 113 on opening night rosters for the 2016-17 season.

The NBA has an Indian owner in Sacramento Kings Vivek Ranadive, who was born in Mumbai, but a player to galvanize a fan base has yet to arrive.

Satnam Singh Bhamara, the son of a farmer, became the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA when the Dallas Mavericks used the 52nd pick on the 7-foot-2-inch centre in 2015.