Doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna is likely to be picked for the Pakistan tie. (PTI/File)It’s been a month since the sports ministry declared that the onus of India sending a team to Pakistan for their Davis Cup tie in September lies entirely on the All India Tennis Association (AITA). The governing body of the sport in the country is yet to officially announce its decision in this regard. However, AITA has begun the process of checking player availability and sorting visa applications.
“So far, AITA hasn’t made any official statement on whether we will be going or not,” says Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali. “But I understand they have already started checking with the players if they are available. They’ve also asked us for our passport copies. I guess, it’s in relation to starting the visa process which can be lengthy.”
The International Tennis Federation has granted the hosts, Pakistan Tennis Federation, permission to host the two-day Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie on September 14-15 (Saturday and Sunday) and has also conducted the customary inspection of the venue in Islamabad – The Pakistan Sports Complex – where the tie will be held on grass courts.
Ban lifted
Pakistan couldn’t host Davis Cup ties for 12 years due to security concerns. The ITF eventually lifted the ban in 2017. Since then, only Hong Kong has refused to play an away tie in Pakistan, and were subsequently relegated to a lower division and slapped with a fine.
On Wednesday, the two-member ITF team inspecting the venue and security measures cleared the arrangements for the tie. “We have visited all the places where the Indian team is to spend time. Since Pakistan has hosted a good number of ties in Islamabad, I believe the plan of the team’s stay has been well prepared,” Giles Robbins from ITF told Pakistani newspaper ‘The News.’ His fellow official Richard Gallagher added: “Islamabad has been a secure city where the PTF (Pakistan Tennis Federation) has hosted no less than five Davis Cup ties in recent times. These are beautiful grass courts. Usually, we find these types of courts back in England.”
As things stand, both the Indian sports ministry and the ITF have cleared the Indian team’s participation for the tie, which will be the first time since 2006 that the two countries will meet in the Davis Cup. The last time an Indian team travelled across the border for a tie was back in 1964 – incidentally, Ali’s father Akhtar Ali was part of the team.
“My father has been very excited about this tie and told me many stories about his own experiences there,” Ali adds. “So far, the process seems to have started. I guess, the wheel has started turning.”
The final selection meeting is expected to take place next month.
India’s current top three singles players are Prajnesh Gunneswaran (ranked 88), Ramkumar Ramanathan (185) and Sumit Nagal (207) and are most likely to be picked for the tie, along with top two doubles specialists Rohan Bopanna (45) and Divij Sharan (46).
