The All India Tennis Association (AITA), International Tennis Federation (ITF) and India captain Mahesh Bhupathi will have a teleconference on Monday to decide on the fate of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie against Pakistan, scheduled in Islamabad on September 14-15.
“A call is scheduled on Monday for discussions with the ITF,” Bhupathi told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
“The ITF has communicated to us that they are monitoring the situation on a daily basis,” said AITA secretary-general Hironmoy Chatterjee. “According to their observers, as of today, they have not found a reason to change the date or venue of the tie. But that, however, does not mean that they have refused to postpone or allow a neutral venue.”
The AITA had written to the ITF, requesting them to review the diplomatic situation between the two countries, following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
The demand has been for the tie to be held at a neutral venue or a postponement of dates till the relations improve between the nations.
“The ITF needs to understand that we are not talking about general security. The situation involving Pakistan is very different from other countries. ITF has told us that the security arrangements at the venue (Islamabad Sports Complex), at the team hotel and the route the India players may have to travel by are satisfactory. We are not denying that. Our point is the deteriorating diplomatic relations. On Monday, we will put across the apprehension that we have. It is always possible that our players, once they have reached, will not be accorded enough security.
“The Pakistan Tennis Federation is very close to us and want to provide us with all
facilities for the match to go on. But even they cannot predict what a politician may do. And we cannot take a chance with the security and well-being of our players,” Chatterjee added.
Asked about the visa status, Chatterjee said: “We have started the process, but our players are in various countries now, playing tournaments. Some have submitted their documents.”
