North India Launches Inaugural Franchise Pickleball League This April

North India is set to mark a significant milestone in the growth of pickleball with the official announcement of the Tynor North India Pickleball Cup (NIPC) 2026, Season 1. Positioned as North India's first franchise-style pickleball league, the tournament will be held on April 11-12 at Parvaaaz Sports, Mohali.

Retired Brigadier H.P.S. Bedi, VSM, army veteran and founder of NIPC, spoke at a press conference at Chandigarh Press Club to unveil the league's structure. The NIPC will feature over 140 players, a prize pool of ₹25 lakh, and a player auction scheduled for April 5 at Chandigarh Club. The auction format sets this league apart from conventional regional tournaments: the NIPC adopts a franchise-driven model where registered players enter an official auction pool and are selected by competing franchises, mirroring the IPL-style blueprint that has already taken root at the national level.

Season 1 will feature top-seeded players from across India alongside professionally managed franchise teams supported by business leaders and entrepreneurs. Franchise team GB Legends was represented by its CEO Amit Sood, while Dr. Jasbir Singh of JSK Blessing Homes and Ravinder Singh of Pushpanjali Foods Ltd. are also among the franchise team owners.

Beyond the tournament, NIPC plans to develop world-class playing infrastructure, support pickleball clubs across North India, and engage players through leagues, tournaments, and community events, according to Neeraj Mehta, Director of NIPC. The tournament will host multiple categories catering to diverse skill levels, including advanced, intermediate, youth, and 50-plus players.

Representatives from district pickleball associations, including Ashok Gupta from Mohali and Anand Gupta from Panchkula, stressed the importance of structured competitions like NIPC in driving grassroots development and strengthening the regional sporting ecosystem.

The timing is telling. Over 50,000 people in India played pickleball in the 18 months prior to September 2024, with over 500 courts throughout the country and 40 to 50 new courts being added every month. North India, long a hotbed of racquet sports culture, has so far lacked the kind of franchise infrastructure that cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru have built through the national IPBL. The NIPC is a direct attempt to close that gap at the regional level, with Mohali serving as the launchpad for what organisers intend to grow into a multi-season operation.