AITA says Paes wasn’t respected

New Delhi, April 10: Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi should have shown “respect” to Leander Paes by clearly telling him that he was not going to be a part of the playing squad before his arrival for the tie against Uzbekistan, the AITA said on Monday.

In the midst of an ugly public spat over team selection, Paes said that Bhupathi was being disrespectful to him by not categorically telling him that he would not be in the playing squad, while the new captain asserted that he had never promised a certain spot to Paes.

AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee said that the non-playing captain should have kept in mind about Paes’ stature in Indian tennis.

“We would have appreciated if Mahesh had told Leander before he arrived that he is not going to be in the final four. I think he (Paes) deserves that respect after serving the country for 27 years,” Chatterjee said.

The senior AITA official also said that they expect the veteran players to behave in a mature manner.

Bhupathi made public his chat with Paes to counter accusations that he used his position to exclude the Olympic medallist from the playing squad.

“We expect these senior pros to be more mature. The way they are going about it, we are not appreciating it. We have to talk to them and make sure they behave in a much more mature manner,” Chetterjee said.

The Bengal Tennis Association President also said that Paes should have avoided making comments on his exclusion during the tie.