New Delhi: Former US Open finalist and two-time Olympian Rohan Bopanna has been dropped from the Indian Davis Cup squad for the upcoming tie against New Zealand in February.
The AITA selection committee comprising SP Misra, Rohit Rajpal, Nandan Bal, Zeeshan Ali and secretary-general Hiranmoy Chatterjee decided that Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni will be the preferred choice for their good show against Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez in the previous Davis Cup tie against Spain.
While Bopanna’s world ranking is 28, Paes is currently 59 and Myneni is 210 in the ATP doubles ranking list. “Picking Rohan blocks the place for a third singles player that we wanted to have in the squad. Also Leander and Saketh were brilliant against Spain. But whenever Leander and Rohan have played together, they have not done well. Take Czech Republic tie as an example,” Misra told reporters here Thursday after the meeting.
“Leander is a deuce court player while both Saketh and Rohan are ad (advantage) court players. So to combine two players strong on the ad court is a misnomer in tennis terms. Keeping in mind these factors we decided to go ahead with Leander and Saketh,” Misra added.
Asked about Somdev Devvarman who has not found a place in the squad, Misra said that he has not been playing tournaments for a long time. “He needs to prove his mettle in competitive tennis if he wants to make a comeback to the national side,” Misra asserted.
India’s squad for New Zealand tie will witness Yuki Bhambri’s comeback with Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan being the other two singles players.
The selection committee also named a provisional squad for Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 event that will take place in Astana in Kazakhstan starting February 6.
Sania Mirza has been kept in the squad as of now. It also comprises Ankita Raina, Snehadevi Reddy, Karman Thandi, Riya Bhatia and Prarthana Thombare.
Teams
Men: Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Saketh Myneni, Leander Paes and
Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
Women: Sania Mirza, Ankita Raina, Snehadevi Reddy,
Karman Thandi, Riya Bhatia and Prarthana Thombare.
Mahesh named new Davis Cup skipper
Doubles legend Mahesh Bhupathi was Thursday named the new non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team and will take charge after the Asia/Oceania zone Group I home tie against New Zealand in Pune, February 3 to 5.
The tie against New Zealand will be Anand Amritraj’s last as non-playing captain as AITA wants to give him a ‘farewell’.
Multiple Grand Slam doubles title winner Bhupathi was the hot favourite the moment AITA decided to replace Amritraj.
“Everybody should get a chance to be captain. No post stays with one person forever. I personally spoke to Mahesh and asked if he is available, he said ‘Yes’. That was it. Also we wanted Anand to be given a farewell tie,” AITA secretary-general Hiranmoy Chatterjee told mediapersons here.
Asked if Amritraj was happy with the decision, Chatterjee tersely replied: “No one wants to go. But everyone deserves a chance to be the captain.”
He also said that players who had written to the AITA in support of Amritraj continuing were not taken into consideration. “It’s not their (players) prerogative. We don’t need to consult the players. Even Leander Paes was not consulted.”
Keeping in mind the strained relationship between Leander and Mahesh, the AITA secretary-general said that appropriate steps will be taken at the right time. “We will cross that bridge when it comes,” Chatterjee asserted.
Chatterjee also said that there was no communication with Somdev Devvarman or Ramesh Krishnan regarding coach and non-playing captain’s role in the side.
‘Hard act to follow’
India’s outgoing Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj predicted Thursday some tough times for the next man in charge, Mahesh Bhupathi. “Till Wednesday, I did not even know that Mahesh was interested in the captaincy. He will certainly have challenges and without sounding too cocky, he’ll have a hard act to follow, considering the rapport I have with the team,” Amritraj said. The outgoing captain had taken charge in 2013 after players protested at the way they were being treated by then captain SP Misra.
PTI
