Indian Panthers CEO Parveen Batish admits players were being short-changed, but said the matter had been resolved before the Rams contest.
“There’s some truth in that, I won’t deny that – but that’s been rectified,” he told Newstalk ZB.
“I had a discussion with three or four of the players, told them what was going to happen.
“Were they okay with what I was planning to do and would they be playing? The answer was yes. And then I heard nothing from them all day.”
Batish said cashflow issues led to payments, which he said amounted to $3200, being delayed.
“For a new company, sometimes it’s just cashflow. We’ve come off the back of our largest league in India and so sometimes, that just happens.
“But it wasn’t that we didn’t communicate what was happening, because we did.
“We’re not the first company to be in cashflow issues.”
However, a source within the Panthers organisation spoken to by ZB claims that players, coaches and operational staff had yet to be fully paid.
The living conditions were particularly difficult for the team’s four overseas players who made the trip to New Zealand, with the source saying the imports were leaning on food banks after being given a credit card that had insufficient funds.
“Everyone is frustrated, everyone is tired and the sad thing is this is the product,” the source told Newstalk ZB.
The source also claimed the team had been without their interim coach Goodman, CEO Batish and their general manager for a fortnight, with the trio based in Melbourne.
“We haven’t had practice, there’s no training facility and there’s no schedule.”
There were also frustrations over the delayed arrival of the team’s Indian players.
“Every week we’d ask when the rest of the guys were coming from India and there was no definitive answer.”
The source believes the difficulties faced by Indian players already with the Panthers in New Zealand were putting off their compatriots in India.
Batish acknowledged the issues the new franchise has faced, admitting the team had fallen short of expectations.
“We haven’t delivered the product that we promised, so having three Indian players when we should’ve had eight to 10, that’s our fault. So, our overreliance on local players, which has led to this, shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
In a statement, the NBL said it had known about the delayed payments since last Friday and was considering its options regarding the Panthers’ future.
But the Panthers’ source claims officials from the NBL and Basketball New Zealand had known about the delayed payments for three weeks.
That, in turn, led to the planned televised protest against the Rams in an effort to be heard, before the game was canned at the eleventh hour.
It’s understood the team’s mid-season shift from Takanini to Pukekohe for their home games was because of the club being unable to afford the operational costs at Pulman Arena.
The source was adamant that there was no future in sight for the Indian Panthers and that if the franchise continued, the concerns around player payments would heighten.
All 12 clubs – including the Panthers – met league officials, with Batish staking his claim for his franchise to remain.
“I presented to the other clubs and it was a discussion; it was an opportunity for them to ask questions of us and ask questions of the league.
“But there was certainly no consensus out of that meeting to say that our licence should be removed. If there was, then there would’ve been a second meeting that I don’t know anything about.”
A source within the NBL confirmed there was only one meeting between the clubs, and that no vote took place.
That same source expected the league to announce the removal of the Indian Panthers’ licence.
