Davis Cup tie between India & Pakistan to be played in Kazakhstan

Amid the suffocating swirl of anticipation and hype, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has selected the Kazakhstan capital Nur-Sultan as the neutral venue for the upcoming Davis Cup tie between India and Pakistan.

The decision that the tie should be played at a neutral venue, taken by the tournament committee on November 4, was endorsed by the Independent Tribunal of the Federation. Earlier, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) had appealed contesting the decision of the committee. It held that if Indian pilgrims can visit the country without any security threat, the Indian team can also play tournaments in Islamabad. Meanwhile, India expressed concerns about the players’ safety due to the closely shadowed diplomatic tension between the two nations following the recent revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

AITA CEO Akhuori Bishwadeep told PTI:

"The ITF has communicated to us that the tie will be held in Nur-Sultan. We can't say if they rejected the PTF appeal. In a late-night communication, they just mentioned the new venue."

India-Pakistan clashes morph from a mere sporting affair to a much bitter encounter of conflicting nationalism and cultural chauvinism on and off the field. The tie was initially scheduled to be held in September but was postponed to November 29-30. India will travel to Nur-Sultan with the top players, who had initially refused to travel to Pakistan for the tie but agreed to play on the neutral venue.

The full-strength Indian squad will be spearheaded by top singles players Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan while veteran Leander Paes and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will pair up for the doubles. In what caused a major upset among the tennis fans across the country, top doubles player Rohan Bopanna, ranked 38 according to the latest ATP rankings, pulled out of the tie after suffering a shoulder injury yesterday.