Bhupathi picks four singles players Paes, Bopanna reserves

In a bold decision, India's non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Tuesday opted for four singles players in the squad, keeping veteran Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna as reserve members, for the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan.

Ramkumar Ramanathan (ranked 269), Yuki Bhambri (307), Prajnesh Gunneswaran (325) and N Sriram Balaji (350) are in the playing squad for the tie scheduled from April 7 to 9 in Bengaluru.

It is difficult to remember when was the last time India named a team which had all the singles specialists.

Doubles has always been considered India's strength and Bhupathi and Paes together made for a formidable force not only in Davis Cup but also on the ATP World Tour in late 1990s.

Bhupathi had said that he has the option of having only singles players in the team and as of now he has exercised his right to have the team of his choice. However, things can turn out to be different since rules permit for a change of two members before the tie begins.

The captain, though, admitted that he can bring in either Paes or Bopanna if required.