Kolkata: Despite Mahesh Bhupathi refusing to accept the fact that he has been replaced as India's skipper for the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Wednesday again reconfirmed that Rohit Rajpal will be the captain for the game as a non-playing skipper.
"There won't be any change in captaincy as far as the Davis Cup with Pakistan is concerned," AITA secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee told a leading news agency.
Chatterjee revealed that Bhupathi's contract was already over and he was given an extension for the previous tie against Italy in February in Kolkata. "His contract was over in 2018. He made himself unavailable for the Pakistan tie so we replaced him," Chatterjee said.
The AITA on Monday named Rajpal, a former India player and Chairman of the national tennis federation's selection panel, as the captain after Bhupathi refused to travel to Pakistan citing security concerns for the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) shifted the game from Islamabad to a neutral venue but that hasn't seen any change in plan as far as AITA is concerned.
The issue started with Rohan Bopanna tweeting on Tuesday that he was surprised by the national federation's decision to change the captain before ITF's decision on the venue for the Pakistan tie and also pointed that the players were not kept in the loop.
"To everyone so concerned for my thoughts and comments. All I know is from a phone call with Mr. Chaterjee (AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee) on Monday where I was told that Rohit is replacing me as captain because I wasn't comfortable going to Pakistan (love the country been there before -- not this time)," Bhupathi tweeted on Wednesday.
"I have not heard from the AITA since Monday or after the ITF addressed the players concerns on venue and approved a neutral location -- so I am available and believe in am still captain unless I hear otherwise! Glad to "comment" when I know what I know," he added.
Asked to throw some more light on it, the multiple Grand Slam winner told the same leading news agency: "Not commenting till team is announced.".
The squad is likely to be announced on November 9 or 10.
The tie was earlier scheduled to be held on September 14-15 but was postponed to November after a security review by the ITF in August. The postponement had come in the wake of pleas from India to shift the tie to a neutral venue or postpone it given the heightened tensions between the two countries.
