Mukund Sasikumar rubbishes ban, attacks AITA

Indian tennis player Mukund Sasikumar has found himself at the center of a controversy with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) having supposedly banned him for two Davis Cup ties.

Mukund, a rising star in Indian tennis, has publicly criticized AITA for barring him from participating in the Davis Cup.

According to AITA, Mukund was handed a two-tie suspension after he refused to compete in a Davis Cup match against Pakistan earlier this year. This suspension effectively sidelines him from the next two ties that India plays.

Mukund Sasikumar is not part of the team scheduled to compete against Sweden in the September matches of the Davis Cup which feature current world No. 74 Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, N. Sriram Balaji, Niki Poonacha, and Siddharth Vishwakarma

Mukund, however, presented a different viewpoint and expressed his frustration on Instagram.

In his post, he sharply criticized team captain Rohit Rajpal and the coach, stating that they had initially asked him to join the squad for the Sweden tour. However, Mukund declined due to to no possessing a visa.

He further suggested that the suspension might be driven by a personal vendetta, questioning the reasoning behind it.

"I have never heard of a player being banned for missing a tie. If that's the case, many officials should be banned for life for misusing players' money on drinks and even stealing their prize money."

Mukund also voiced his concerns about the broader issues affecting athletes, stating,

"Poor treatment is the main reason why athletes lose interest in representing the nation. It's high time players are no longer dragged into unnecessary drama for every tie, whether they're participating or not."

According to a PTI report, the AITA’s decision to suspend Mukund was not solely based on his refusal to play against Pakistan but also on his repeated unwillingness to represent the national team.

Allegedly, Mukund had declined to join the team on three separate occasions, which led to the two-tie ban. As a result, Mukund will miss the upcoming tour to Sweden and will not be considered for the subsequent matches that the Indian team will play.

India's No 1 Ranked Singles Player

Born in Chennai, 27-year-old Mukund Sasikumar reached his career-best ATP singles ranking of 229 on October 17, 2019, and his highest ATP doubles ranking of 431 on February 3, 2020.

He made his ATP main draw debut at the 2020 Maharashtra Open after receiving a wildcard entry into the singles competition.

In 2022, Mukund had a strong year, winning his first title in five years at an ITF Futures event in Portugal in September. This victory elevated him to India’s No. 1 ranked singles player by November of the same year.

He also finished as the runner-up at an ITF 15 event in Egypt later in December.