Bhupathi, Paes again wash dirty linen in public
The long-standing war between the country’s two tennis stalwarts — Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi flared up again on Sunday with the two having a go at each other following India’s 4-1 win against Uzbekistan in the Asia/Oceania Group 1, Round 2 match in Bangalore.
The trigger was Paes’ statement on Thursday after he was not included in the squad as Bhupathi opted for Rohan Bopanna as the doubles specialist in the four-man squad. Paes accused Bhupathi of showing bias, claiming that he changed the selection criteria from form to ranking.
Both issued statements on Sunday — Bhupathi on the social media and Paes through his company Brand Leander late in the night.
Bhupathi, who had kept quiet on Thursday when Paes went hammer and tongs at him, fired the first salvo on Sunday evening when a Whatsapp conversation between him and Paes was put out in the social media. Through the screen shot of that chat, Bhupathi tried to claim Paes agreed to join the Davis Cup squad in Bangalore despite being informed that there was no guarantee he will be in the final four.
The import of the conversation, which Paes claimed were ‘leaked’ by the rival camp, was that Paes was made aware that Bhupathi was going to go ahead with three singles and one doubles specialist against Uzbekistan and that he would take a call on doubles only on Wednesday. In the conversation, Bhupathi left it to Paes to decide whether he wanted to be in Bangalore.
Late in the night, Paes responded, claiming that the main criteria for selection was form and “that was clearly mentioned in the exchange”. “This was not followed when it came to final selection,” he claimed.
Paes also said he was never categorically told he would not be playing. “But it was apparent that the decision was made before I arrived in Bangalore . This is what I found unnecessary and disrespectful,” said Paes in his statement.
He also took exception to their conversation being put out on social media. “That a private exchange has been made public just points to the kind of conduct that I find unbecoming of a Davis Cup captain,” he said.
He added, “As for the long post on social media by Mahesh belittling my contribution to Davis Cup, I can give a detailed rebuttal pointing out just how one-sided and convoluted his arguments are. I may do so in the near future but as far as the fans out there are concerned, they just have to examine who won what for our country when representing the flag. Talk is cheap, history books, however, don’t lie.”