India beat Uzbekistan 4-1 in the Asia Oceania Group I Round 2 of the Davis Cup. It saw debuts for Prajnesh Gunneswaran and N Sriram Balaji at the KSLTA Stadium in Bangalore. While Prajnesh won one and lost one, the other singles player in Ramkumar Ramanathan won both his singles rubbers. This dominant showing came despite the absence of Yuki Bhambri who was injured. It took India into the World Group Playoffs. Despite this comfortable show for India, it is the men away from the court who once again don the headlines. And it is two men who once used to be on the same side of the court, were World No 1 at one stage and then ended their partnership, were on opposite ends of the court and have had a bitter relationship ever since. At the same time, the duo have expressed friendly signs at times while maintaining professional relationship – as is the case now. The two men in question are Leander Paes, still playing at 43, and Mahesh Bhupathi, India’s non-playing captain, who replaced Anand Amritraj.
The two have been at loggerheads over a long period of time and the latest episode saw Paes not being included for the Uzbekistan rubber with Rohan Bopanna partnering Balaji in the doubles. The decision, as per Bhupathi, was taken after considering the fact that Paes missed the fitness test as required and the fast courts, cooler temperatures and high altitude at KSLTA were all suitable for Bopanna to get the nod ahead of Paes. In the post tie press conference, Bhupathi asserted that Bopanna is India’s top doubles player and hinted his inclusion for the World Group Playoff. “Like I said in the press conference on Thursday, I am a big believer that we don’t require a doubles specialist for the Davis Cup team. As of today, Rohan Bopanna is India’s number one doubles player by far,” he said.
Paes joins late, leaves mid-way into the tie
In this entire episode, or multiple episodes, it is important to ascertain facts or what was said.
Bhupathi’s reasoning for putting both Bopanna and Paes in the reserves was their disappointing form going into the tie. He, however, said the final decision would be taken later on who plays if things change. “This is my team for now. Obviously I have picked them on form. The way I want to continue down my captaincy is you need to give everyone an opportunity and results need to speak. These boys have won a lot of matches coming in, both Leander and Rohan haven’t,” Bhupathi had said on March 28. And then, Paes won the ATP Challenger event in Leon, Mexico prior to the Davis Cup tie. On the other hand, Bopanna played at the top level alongside Pablo Cuevas and crashed out early in Indian Wells and Miami.
Paes therefore joined the team on Wednesday when the squad had been practicing from Sunday. If form was in fact the criteria, Paes made more sense to be picked and the veteran brought this point up in his rebuttal to Bhupathi’s claims on Sunday and in a slamming Facebook post. “The main criteria for selection was form. That’s clearly mentioned in the exchange. This was not followed when it came to final selection. I was never categorically told that I would not be playing. But it was apparent that the decision was made before I arrived in Bengaluru. This is what I found unnecessary and disrespectful,” wrote Paes in his Facebook post.
“At one time, it (selection) is based on rankings and other times it’s based on likes and personal preferences. Sometimes it’s not on personal preferences, it is based on who plays deuce court and who plays on ad court. And now it is based on form. On form, you guys know better who has played better. All this nonsense should not be there. When it comes to playing for the country. I firmly believe in one simple phone call – you are needed, or you are not needed. As simple as that. It doesn’t have to be like this,” said Paes on Thursday after the team was announced.
However, all facts and points considered, Paes leaving mid-way into the tie is unbecoming of a member playing in a team format. Further, Paes joining on Wednesday, leaving little time for practice sessions, did put the ball in Bopanna’s court and made the decision easier for Bhupathi. “The six-man squad is to build a team. This (Paes walking off the day after his arrival) is one of the many shocking things that has transpired this week,” said Mahesh. This also brings back memories of the time when Paes arrived late in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics leaving little time for Bopanna and him to practice. It, then, came as no surprise that they crashed out in the very first round after plenty of drama then too with AITA picking not the most ideal team for the extravaganza.
Bhupathi discloses private Whatsapp conversation
If the damning comments and accusations weren’t enough, Bhupathi brought out a private conversation with Paes into the public. The Whatsapp conversation has Bhupathi explaining to Paes early in March that the doubles option was still undecided but logically Bopanna was a better pick taking the conditions into mind. Further, the captain added that Paes’ decision would be respected whether he chose to come down for the tie and await the last minute decision or sit out amid the uncertainty. To which Paes responded that Davis Cup was his priority and if picked in the six-man squad, he would travel to India for the push towards the World Group.
Disclosing this private conversation didn’t sit well with Paes who said, “That a private exchange has been made public just points to the kind of conduct that I find unbecoming of a Davis Cup Captain.”
Fact of the Matter
It is in fact poor from Mahesh to reveal a private conversation and bring it to the public domain. This creates a level of mistrust in the team surrounding other players irrespective of their relationship and the camaraderie that they share. In the end, though, Indian tennis gets another dose of controversy when in fact it should be celebrating a perfect weekend which saw winning debuts for two youngsters and a possible surge towards the World Group.
source:indianexpress
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