Leander Paes has been retained in the Davis Cup squad for the tie against the Uzbekistan but the new non playing captain Mahesh Bhupati will decide about the final four players and that Paes inclusion will be decided 10 days before the Asia/Oceania Group 1 2nd -Round tie which begins on 7th April in Bangaluru. The selection committee held by S.P. Misra named four singles players i.e. Ramkumar Ramnathan, Yuki Bhambri, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and N Sriram Balaji and 2 doubles players Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes in the six member squad. The AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee said that the captain will decide on the final four. He further said that as of today the best option for the doubles was Leander Paes and Rohan ranking wise and form wise. However the captain will discuss with chairman of the selection committee 10 days before the tie to finalize the final four. When asked about the troubled past involving Bopanna and Paes Mr. Chatterjee said “when the players step on the court, they see only the ball”. As a pair for Rio Olympics last year, Bopanna had stated that his game was not compatible with Paes. Coach Zishan Ali also made it clear that selection will always be dictated by requirement of the side during a particular tie. It will depend on which team we play and as far as Rohan and Leander are concerned, they had issues in the past but they have also come together and played some amazing matches. After all the players are professionals and no fuss over any issue will be made.
