Akilan Pari (born 20 July 1989) is an Indian professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Punjab Steelers of India's UBA Pro Basketball League. [1]
 Akilan Pari with Income Tax in 2015 | |
| Punjab Steelers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | UBA Pro Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 20 July 1989 Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2010: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2010–present |
| Career history | |
| 2017–present | Punjab Steelers |
He is a member of India's national basketball team since 2014. As of 2018, he serves as team captain[2] of India's national basketball team.[3][4]
Pari already made a name for himself as a youth player. He captained Tamil Nadu's official state lineups for the u-13, u-16 and u-18 (junior) and senior men level.[5]
During the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, Akila Pari was selected to play at the Sprite Uncontainable Game, where he was coached by Omri Casspi and Serge Ibaka.[6]
As of 2018, he has been labelled as one of India's best basketball players[7] because of his passing and ball handling skills, and because of complicated engagement rules, missed a crucial playoff game against Lebanon, a game which India lost[8] because of his absence.[9]
References
edit- ^ India - FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, FIBA.com, accessed 2 April 2017.
- ^ "India's Men's basketball roster announced for FIBA World Cup qualifying games next week". 18 November 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ TN squads for senior National basketball named, The Hindu, 14 January 2018. Accessed 7 April 2018.
- ^ 15th SSN Trophy Championship Concluded Successfully, Expressnews, 23 August 2017. Accessed 7 April 2018.
- ^ AKILAN PARI – LIVING HIS BASKETBALL DREAMS, Gopalakrishnan R, ekalavyas.com, accessed 26 April 2017.
- ^ The Sprite Uncontainable Game: Meet the Players from Estonia, India and Lithuania, Colleen Oakley, coca-colacompany.com, 4 February 2013. Accessed 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Punjab Suffer Second Successive Deteat". 4 August 2016.
- ^ Chidananda, Shreedutta (26 February 2018). "Lebanese hoopsters too good for India". Hindu. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ Engagement rules Akilan Pari out of India’s basketball World Cup qualifier, Ashim Sunam, The New INDIAN EXPRESS, 24 February 2018. Accessed 3 April 2018.