The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Bhupathi keeps Uzbeks guessing
Davis Cup captain keeps his cards close to the chest; picks four singles specialists, while veterans Paes and Bopanna relegated to reserves
AHEAD OF Mahesh Bhupathi’s debut as India’s Davis Cup captain, the 42-year-old has added intrigue to the team selection just 10 days before the tie.
For the starting four in the six-member line-up that was picked in early March, Bhupathi has opted for four singles players to play the second round Asia/oceania tie against Uzbekistan in Bangalore, leaving doubles specialists Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes as reserves.
Davis Cup protocol dictates that the final team line-up may be altered an hour before the draw ceremony held a day before the tie. As things stand, Bhupathi has announced a starting line-up that includes Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and N Sriram Balaji.
In one stroke, the new non-playing captain would have thrown off the kerb the Uzbek strategising, while also nipping in the bud possible controversies that’d have followed the early selection (or omission) of either of the two — Paes and Bopanna, who’ve had frequent run-ins till as recently as the February tie against New Zealand. While the duo’s form on the ATP Tour has been scratchy, the selected four have mostly played tournaments in the lower tiers.
Permutation, combination
In all likeliness however, the move may be a mere ruse in order to avoid the customary controversy that involves doubles selection for the Davis Cup. “There is a fair chance that there could be a change in the final team,” says SP Misra, chairman of the AITA selection committee.
Should the line-up remain unchanged, two of the four will be tasked with playing the lone doubles rubber, which in turn brings up a new set of questions.
In that case, it can be assumed that Ramkumar and Balaji may be asked to pair up. While Bhambri had claimed he was ready to play all three days against New Zealand, he’s not a regular doubles player, while Prajnesh — weak in his volley game might not be best suited, besides also being unranked in doubles on the ATP circuit.
However, with fitness being a dealbreaker amongst Indians (Saketh Myneni had to opt out a day before the draw in Pune), Bhupathi would want to keep his options open. All possibilities remain.
“There’s a chance that both Leander and Rohan will play, or either one of them will, or none,” Misra says.
The final decision depends on how the Indian players perform during the team practice sessions leading up to the tie on April 7.
“He’ll want to see how each player is feeling on those days. He’ll also want to watch the Uzbek players and keep them guessing,” Misra adds.
A fan of the 3+1 formula, Bhupathi though might need to summon both the seasoned pros against the Istomin-led side, which makes the doubles rubber crucial.
Uzbekistan’s challenge will be spearheaded by world number 70 Denis Istomin, along with Sanjar Fayziev, Temur Ismailov and Farrukh Dustov.
India’s biggest threat will be from Istomin though, who beat Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January, and is likely to play all three days, though he has struggled with fitness recently.
In the Indian camp, Bhupathi took charge by asking the prospective players to undergo fitness tests before the team of six was selected. Bhupathi claims to have narrowed it down to the four based on their current form on tour, but can still change his decision.
“The strategy has been planned by the captain, and he’s keeping it close to the chest. He definitely has something up his sleeve,” Misra states.
Bhupathi’s announcement may be a tactical ploy, or a simple diversion so controversy doesn’t follow the Day 2 doubles selection. With both of India’s top two doubles specialists — Bopanna, ranked 23rd and Paes at 57 — on the bench, the captain will need to choose from the four when he fields a doubles pair for the Saturday rubber.
Interestingly enough, while Bhupathi’s involvement on tour has decreased over the past few years — his last competitive match was at the Madrid Masters last May — his world rank of 506 is better than the doubles ranking of singles specialists Bhambri and Prajnesh.