| Akilan Pari | |
| Position: | Point guard |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 10 |
| Team: | Punjab Steelers |
| League: | UBA Pro Basketball League |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Birth Date: | 1989 7, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Draft Year: | 2010 |
| Career Start: | 2010 |
| Years1: | 2017–present |
| Team1: | Punjab Steelers |
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]
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]