Davis Cup 2019: Sasi Mukund withdraws from Pakistan tie

Days after Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna pulled out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Pakistan to be held in Nur-Sultan, young Sasi Kumar Mukund has also withdrawn from the clash due to a foot injury. The 22-year old suffered the injury in his men's doubles semi-final game at the Challenger Maia Open in Portugal. Playing with compatriot Vijay Sundar Prashanth, the duo went down 7-6, 6-3, 11-9 to the German duo of D Masur and A Begemann.

India's Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali confirmed the news of Mukund's availability and said, "Unfortunately Sasi will not travel with us. He has informed that he sustained the injury while playing a doubles game."

Ranked 261 in the recent singles ATP charts, Mukund was named as a reserve member in the Davis Cup team that already has eight members. The Indian contingent wanted N Sriram Balaji to replace Mukund in the Davis Cup squad for the tie against Pakistan, but arranging his visa at a short notice will not be an easy task. Balaji, who is ranked 137 in the world in the men's doubles charts, has been training with the side in Delhi since the start of the week to help the team prepare.

With both Bopanna and Balaji unavailable, the challenge, thus, will be to find the perfect doubles partner for Leander Paes, who is returning to play Davis Cup after 18 months. Either of Saketh Myneni and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan is likely to pair with the 46-year old veteran.

"We still feel, Aisam and Aqeel may turn up for Pakistan so we are preparing all combinations. If a player like Saketh is there, Leander can dominate from the net," said Rohit Rajpal, the non-playing captain of the Indian team. "If Jeevan is playing with Leander, then probably, it's better Leander takes care of the backside of the court since Jeevan is quick. So we are trying everything."