Indian Panthers withdraw from New Zealand NBL, unable to meet conditions to continue

The ill-fated Indian Panthers NBL experiment is over, with the troubled franchise officially withdrawing from the Kiwi hoops league following a suspension and investigation.

The NBL announced on Thursday the Panthers had withdrawn from the league, acknowledging that they were not in a position to meet set requirements to complete the season for a variety of reasons.

The NBL commission said it accepted the Panthers’ withdrawal subject to finalising an agreement regarding the club honouring outstanding obligations to creditors, including players and staff, as well as compensation to the league.

The NBL said the Panthers had co-operated with league management during an ongoing investigation launched in late-April and accepted responsibility for falling short on delivering outcomes presented when being awarded the licence last September.

The tipping point came in late-April when the 0-9 Panthers failed to take the court for their scheduled NBL home game against the league-leading and back-to-back champion Canterbury Rams, forcing an embarrassing “postponement” to a game being beamed out live on Sky Sport.

The no-show was a last-ditch action by players to draw attention to issues being faced at the club. It worked.

The Panthers accepted they had not delivered what they set out to achieve during their debut season and apologised to all concerned.

The NBL commission has decided the season will now be completed with 11 teams, and for fairness all results from the nine games (all defeats) played by the Panthers will be erased.

With regards to the league’s now-vacant 12th licence, the commission noted management had been contacted from three interested potential owners. No decisions will be made on that until a review of the 2025 NBL has been completed.

The Panthers said via a statement they regretted the way their involvement in the Kiwi league played out.

“Our shared vision was to provide Indian players with a platform to develop and showcase their talents on a respected and historically significant stage,” the club said. “That vision remains unchanged.

“However, the journey has presented unforeseen challenges. While some obstacles were within our control, others were not. In hindsight, fielding a team abroad for five months has proven more complex than anticipated.”

The club said it was committed to its original vision and would “explore opportunities for collaboration in future seasons”.

The club’s Kiwi withdrawal extends to the 2025 Tauihi women’s season which will take place later this year without the Panthers, as had been originally planned.

Courtesy of stuff.co.nz, Thursday 22 May 2025