The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Friday announced the Indian team for the Davis Cup World Group 1 tie. Top-seeded singles star Sumit Nagal returned to the squad after missing out in the previous stage, but veteran Yuki Bhambri withdrew from the World Group tie against Sweden next month.
India has appointed former national champion Ashutosh Singh as the new head coach of the national team. 52-year-old Rohit Rajpal has been named captain to lead the Indian team against Sweden. Suspended Sasikumar Mukund is out of the team while Aryan Shah has been named as a reserve player. Apart from Aryan, Siddharth Vishwakarma will make his international debut for India.
The AITA confirmed Bhambri’s unavailability for the crucial tie against Sweden and said they have named the best possible team.
“Yuki was not available for selection and he has not given any reason for his unavailability,” AITA selection committee chairman Nandan Bal told PTI. “We were given the list of available players and his name was not in it, so we picked the players who were available.”
When asked about India’s surprise decision to pair Rohan Bopanna with Sriram Balaji at the recent Paris Olympics 2024 Games, Bal Nandan revealed that Rohan had chosen Balaji as his partner for doubles and the AITA had supported the veteran’s decision.
Nandan Bal further said, “It was Rohan’s decision to play with Balaji. AITA just supported that decision. He was one of the top 10 players and he has the privilege of choosing his partner, AITA cannot be blamed for that.”
Indian team for Davis Cup match against Sweden
- Sumit Nagal
- Ramkumar Ramanathan
- Sriram Balaji
- nikki poonacha
- Siddharth Vishwakarma
- Aryan Shah (Reserve)
- Rohit Rajpal (captain)
India has also ushered in a new era in tennis, with Ashutosh Singh being appointed the new head coach. Ashutosh has replaced former coach Zeeshan Ali, who resigned on August 14 after serving as coach for 11 years.