Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes may be compelled to fight on the same side of the court, as the selectors chose a six-member squad for the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan to be played in Bengaluru from April 7 to 9.
The selection committee, with former Davis Cup captain S.P. Misra as the chairman, took the four best singles players available and the two best doubles players.
“We have chosen the best possible team, and it is now up to the captain to decide on the four. We will have another discussion 10 days before the tie and announce the four-member squad,’’ said the secretary general of the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Hironmoy Chatterjee, who addressed the media along with Misra and coach Zeeshan Ali here on Monday.
“My decision on the final competing team will be based on their performances over the next three weeks and their fitness levels during the week of the tie,” said Mahesh Bhupathi in a press release, in which he expressed confidence that both the players and the AITA would support him in the best possible way.
Saketh Myneni and Sumit Nagal, who had figured in the World Group play-off tie against Spain last September, are still recovering from their injuries and were thus not considered.
Myneni pulled out a day before the tie against New Zealand with a foot injury, which forced Vishnu Vardhan to fly from Hyderabad on the morning of the draw, to partner Paes. Nagal is recovering from a shoulder injury.
There has been a lot of bitterness between Bopanna and Paes in recent times, especially from the Rio Olympics when they played together the last time and crashed out in the first round.
It was felt that Bhupathi would communicate with the players and get them on the same page, making them pull together for the team’s cause.
“Mahesh is going to correct the negativity,’’ stressed Hironmoy Chatterjee.
The squad: Ramkumar Ramanathan, Yuki Bhambri, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Sriram Balaji, Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes.
Captain: Mahesh Bhupathi. Coach: Zeeshan Ali. Junior players: Dhruv Sunish and Nitin Kumar Sinha.
