The India Davis Cup team will have a new coach. On Wednesday, Zeeshan Ali, who took charge in 2013, announced that he has resigned as India coach, insisting that it was time to focus on the development of the National Tennis Centre (NTC).
Zeeshan had replaced Nandan Bal as the Davis Cup coach when the country’s top players had revolted against the All India Tennis Association (AITA), demanding better playing conditions, and refused to play against South Korea in New Delhi.
The 54-year-old Zeeshan had also captained the country in the tie against Pakistan, which India won in Islamabad earlier this year. Regular captain Rohit Rajpal skipped the tour due to personal reasons.
“I felt that now was a good time to give my resignation as the coach of the Davis Cup team. Because, after having been captain, I wanted to end my association as coach of the Davis Cup team on a high. I gave my resignation day before yesterday,” Zeeshan said.
Zeeshan, son of former Davis Cup coach Akhtar Ali, said it was not a decision that was taken in haste. “I played Davis Cup for over nine years. I have been the coach of the Davis Cup team for 11 years and then captained the side as well,” he said.
Zeeshan, during his tenure, was not paid for his role many a time as per the AITA system, but that was not the reason for his decision.
“I have been coaching the Davis Cup team all these years and many times I never got paid. But money was never the reason why I was working with the team. For us, representing India holds a completely different meaning.
“According to the AITA, there’s no contract as such that the coach needs to get paid... I was doing it purely because I wanted to help our young players and represent India again. For me, it has been a privilege and an honour.”
AITA secretary-general Anil Dhupar said Zeeshan was being paid as NTC director. “We have accepted his resignation. He did it for 10 years. He was being paid for NTC, so additional payment was not made to him,” Dhupar said.