Agelesspaes makesacomeback
AITA picks five-member team and three reserves for tie against Pakistan; Rajpal non-playing captain
NEW DELHI: The ageless Leander Paes on Thursday made a comeback to India’s Davis Cup squad that will take on Pakistan in the Asia/oceania Group 1 tie on November 29-30 at a yet to be named venue.
Paes returned to the team after more than a year as the All India Tennis Association (AITA) named four others—sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Saketh Myneni and Rohan Bopanna—in the squad under non-playing skipper Rohit Rajpal. Three others— Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Siddharth Rawat and Sasikumar Mukund—have been named in the reserves.
“As the venue and surface is still unknown, the selection committee decided to have three reserve players for only this particular tie,” AITA secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee said in a statement.
Usually one or a maximum of two players are named as reserves. “The final team will be communicated to the ITF after receiving their communication on November 18,” Chatterjee added.
The 46-year-old Paes had not been considered for selection ever since he won his recordbreaking doubles contest against China in April 2018. The 1996 Atlanta Olympics bronze medallist had become the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup when he and Bopanna beat Ze Zhang and Mao Xin Gong, earning Paes his 43rd victory to take him past Italian Nicola Pietrangeli (42).
That win not only sealed Paes’ name in the history books but also sparked India’s comeback win, rallying from being 0-2 down to win the tie 3-2 and thereby booking their place in the World Group playoff for the fifth consecutive year.
Having made his Davis Cup debut in 1990, Paes is one of the most experienced players on the circuit and has competed in 56 ties, amassing a win-loss record of 91-35.
The Pakistan tie was originally slated for September 14-15 in Islamabad but several top players, including then nonplaying captain Mahesh Bhupathi, opted not to play in Pakistan due to security concerns. The tie was eventually postponed to November 29-30 as the venue was discussed with the International
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Tennis Federation (ITF).
After initially refusing to shift the venue, the Davis Cup Committee earlier this month moved the tie out of Islamabad to a neutral location after assessing the security situation. An unhappy Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) appealed against the decision to the ITF and the issue is still being deliberated upon. However, it is likely the contest will be held at a neutral venue.
Meanwhile, in the absence of top player Prajnesh Gunneswaran, India’s singles challenge will be led by the in-form Nagal (ranked 127) and Ramkumar (190) with Myneni (267) as the backup. Bopanna and Paes will try to come out on top in the lone doubles contest.
Citing injury, Nagal was not part of the original squad which was announced when the tie was to be held in September.
Divij Sharan and Prajnesh were initially named but due to the postponement, both have made themselves unavailable. While Sharan will take a twoweek break after his wedding reception on November 23, Prajnesh is getting married on November 28.
Those who missed out after making themselves available for travelling to Pakistan are Arjun Kadhe, Vijay Sundar Prashanth, N Sriram Balaji and Manish Sureshkumar.
The selection committee said it has deep sense of appreciation and gratitude for players who had confirmed their unconditional availability even if the tie was held in Pakistan.
“However, keeping in mind the overall best interest of the nation of sending out the best possible players some of these players could not be accommodated,” AITA said.
RAJPAL’S TENURE
There is also a question mark on Rajpal’s tenure as skipper as the AITA statement said that he had been appointed non-playing captain “for this tie”. It remains to be seen whether he will continue as skipper after this contest.
The selection meeting was held at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association here and was attended by Rajpal, Balram Singh, Zeeshan Ali and Ankita Bhambri while Nandan Bal joined in via a conference call. Davis Cup squad: Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Saketh Myneni, Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes. Reserves: Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Sasikumar Mukund and Siddharth Rawat.
Non-playing captain: Rohit Rajpal