Davis Cup ace Leander Paes has been named captain of the Indian Davis Cup team that will take on New Zealand next February, the All India Tennis Association announced today.

The decision was taken by the AITA Executive Committee, which met in Delhi on Thursday, after non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan requested not to consider him for the post in 2004.

"The AITA Executive considered various options and has decided to appoint Paes as the playing captain of the Davis Cup team for the tie against New Zealand in 2004," it said in a statement.

The AITA also announced the team, which comprises Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna and Harsh Mankad.

Paes, who is out of action since August following a brain lesion, is slowly regaining fitness but not certain when he will return to action.

It was also decided to introduce an AITA Award of Excellence each year to the State Tennis Association that achieves the best results in the development of the game.

The inaugural award went to the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association.