AITA forced to fall back on Leander Paes for India-Pakistan Davis Cup tie

After non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi and star doubles player Rohan Bopanna both refused to make the trip to Islamabad — citing concerns over security — for India’s highly-anticipated Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group-I tie against Pakistan, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has been forced to fall back on old-horse Leander Paes.

As per a report in the Times of India, with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) still to take the final call on whether or not to relocate the fixture to a neutral venue, the AITA has submitted a list to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) for initiating the visa process. The list contains the name of the 46-year-old Paes, who made himself available for the tie.

The report added that under the circumstances, apart from making a comeback to the team after more than a year which will see him feature in the doubles runner, Paes is likely to be named the captain for the tie.

Previously, other than Bhupathi and Bopanna, top singles players Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sumit Nagal and Sasi Kumar Mukund had also expressed their reluctance to travel to Islamabad. On top of that, India’s highest-ranked singles player, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, will also be unavailable for the tie as he’s getting married on November 29.

However, according to AITA secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee, a final call regarding the Indian team will only be taken after ITF’s decision on the venue on November 4. Chatterjee was quoted by TOI saying:

We decided to send the names to the PTF to start the visa formalities as it’s a long process. We will come to know about the final decision from the ITF on November 3 and will select the team after that. Paes has been named as a player because he has made himself available. As for making him the captain, I can’t say anything at this moment.

The other names on the list that has been submitted for visa application are - Saketh Myneni, Arjun Kadhe, Vijay Sundar Prashanth, N Sriram Balaji, Siddharth Rawat and Manish Suresh Kumar. Among the support staff, Coach Syed Zeeshan Ali, manager Sunder Narayan Iyer and physio Anand Kumar have been named.

The tie, which was initially scheduled to be held in September, is now set to take place at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad on November 29-30. The last time Paes featured in a Davis tie was in April 2018.