Davis Cup: Ramkumar to lead Indian challenge against Pakistan on grass courts
India's top two singles players Sumit Nagal and Sasi Kumar Mukund have conveyed to the national tennis federation that they won't travel to Pakistan for the next Davis Cup tie.
India will host Denmark on the lush green grass court of Delhi Gymkahna Club for the World Group I tie.
Sumit Nagal has been dropped from the five-member Indian Davis Cup team for the World Group 1 play-off tie against Denmark in New Delhi next month.
Sumit Nagal made a comeback to the Indian Davis Cup team for the away World Group I tie against Norway while doubles specialist Divij Sharan was dropped after falling behind in the pecking order, on Thursday.
Nagal, who has played his best tennis this season, sent a confirmation to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Thursday night while Ramkumar had conveyed his availability a few days ago.
Former Davis Cupper Rohit Rajpal, who was already a member, has been elevated as Chairman.
Rohit Rajpal will continue as India's non-playing captain. He took over as captain last year after the country's top players and then captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to travel to Pakistan in November. India is scheduled to travel to Croatia for their next tie on March 6 and 7.
The legendary PT Usha will be officially elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the governing body's polls on Saturday, ushering in a new era in country's sports administration.
AITA usually names five-member squad apart from one or two reserve players.
Doubles exponent Rohan Bopanna retained his place in India's Davis Cup team despite his recent run-in with the national federation, which named a five-member squad for the upcoming World Group I away tie against Finland.
Senior player Rohan Bopanna pulled out of India's upcoming tie against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury, paving the way for Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan's inclusion in the playing squad.
Veteran Leander Paes was, on Tuesday, dropped from the Indian Davis Cup squad for the World Group away tie against Serbia scheduled from September 14 to 16.
Mahesh Bhupathi may not be considered again for the job as India's non-playing captain after he refused to be part of the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan.
PT Usha set to get elected as IOA chief, first woman occupant of top job
Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan saved three match-points in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to prevail over a fighting Danish pair of Frederik Nielsen and Mikael Torpegaard as India kept its place in the Davis Cup World Group I by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Play-off tie, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan blew away their chances in the must-win doubles match as India lost the World Group I tie to Finland after conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead, in Espoo on Saturday.
Maggie Amritraj, mother of former Indian Davis Cup players Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj, passed away in Chennai on Saturday after prolonged illness.
India's best player Yuki Bhambri is back in the squad and that changes the dynamics for the three-day rubber.
AITA selector Rohit Rajpal termed the joint statement issued Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, criticising the sports body for not considering their demand to select them as a team for London Olympics, as "unfortunate".
According to Davis Cup regulations, the Pakistan Tennis Federation now has five working days to choose and confirm their proposed venue.
Check out this impressive guest list at Laila Khan and Farha Furniturewala's wedding reception.
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has withdrawn from the country's upcoming away Davis Cup tie against Finland citing a hip injury and has been replaced by Saketh Myneni in the five-man squad for the indoor contest on September 18-19.
Actor-filmmaker Feroz Khan will be buried in the Johnson Market burial ground, in Bengaluru, on Monday at 5.30 pm, his brother Sanjay Khan said
India's former Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday said he cannot get over the "hurt" caused by the national federation's manner of sacking him but it is hardly a surprise given how the body has dealt with players in the last two decades.
Bhupathi said as per AITA's last communication to him, he was replaced as the non-playing captain for making himself unavailable to travel to Pakistan.
Sehwag and Lamba, who played 76 first-class matches for Delhi between 1967 and 1981, are in the six-member panel headed by retired judge R V Easwar.
The AITA selection committee, on Tuesday, decided to keep veteran Leander Paes in the five-member playing squad for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Croatia, making Divij Sharan the reserve member.
Mukund is now the second Indian player to pull out of the tie after Rohan Bopanna had withdrawn due to a shoulder injury.
India's veteran tennis ace Leander Paes hinted at possible retirement on Monday, saying he now relies on experience to outsmart opponents and shouldn't be playing past another year.
An independent tribunal of the ITF will now deliberate upon the appeal and make a final decision by November 18.
'They are behaving according to their convenience. They have no right to ask question on areas which are outside players' domain. Their job is to play. Who is he (Bopanna) to ask such questions? There is (AITA) administration to look into these matters'
In a bold decision, Underdogs India have preferred Ramkumar Ramanathan over No. 1 singles player Sumit Nagal for their Davis Cup qualifier against top seeds Croatia, beginning in Zagreb on Friday.
The AITA has appointed former Davis Cupper Anand Amritraj as the new non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team, which will take on Chinese Taipei in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie next year.
India, with players of the caliber of Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan and veteran Leander Paes, were already expected to win easy but pulling out of Pakistan top players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan has made it a no-contest.
AITA on sticky wicket after shift in venue
Former Delhi Assembly Speaker and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Maninder Singh Dhir, who had a public spat with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal over praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Coming into the do-or-die match, Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes, with a combined age of 86, won 6-3, 6-7(9), 7-5 after two hours and 21 minutes against Pavic and Skugor, ranked 15 and 32 respectively.
The All India Tennis Association says an unflattering perception is being created about it in the wake of Mahesh Bhupathi's removal as captain when it actually selected Rohit Rajpal because the ITF, till the last moment, had not given the impression that it would move the Davis Cup tie out of Islamabad.
'We did not want India to either default or forfeit this tie'
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