The India-Pakistan Asia Oceania Group 1 Davis Cup tie will now be held on either November 29-30 or November 30-December 1, in Islamabad, subject to a security situation review on November 4.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) informed the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Friday about its decision, AITA secretary general, Hironmoy Chatterjee, said.
In a statement, the ITF on Friday said: “The Davis Cup committee has determined that the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India will be rescheduled for the week commencing November 25 in Islamabad. The Pakistan Tennis Federation has until September 19 to confirm the precise dates of the two-day tie.
“The ITF will continue to monitor the security situation in Pakistan with the host nation and our independent security advisors.”
Asked if the AITA will again insist on a change of venue, since the diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan remain frosty following the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and the Pakistan government downgrading diplomatic relations and sending back Indian high commissioner Ajay Bisaria, Chatterjee said: “Right now, we are not saying anything more. The ITF has said they will do a review on November 4.”
Asked if the players and captain Mahesh Bhupathi will be ready to travel to Islamabad, he said there has been no discussion with the squad yet. “We just got the ITF communication today, we have not yet discussed it with the team,” he said.
Initially, with the tie scheduled for September 14-15, all of the India players had made themselves available. But November weddings of two the key players — Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Divij Sharan — may throw a spanner in the scheme of things for captain Mahesh Bhupathi and coach Zeeshan Ali.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni are the other members of the squad, while young and talented Sasi Kumar Mukund was selected as a reserve member.
On August 22, the ITF had postponed the tie to November, taking into account the political scenario. Not much has really changed from then and now to make Islamabad the ideal venue.
It was a call from The Telegraph that made Zeeshan aware of the latest situation. “I am hearing from you that ITF has fixed the dates. Must say I am a bit disappointed that they did not consider a neutral venue. I hope they will take the political situation into account when they review the security aspects on November 4.
“Frankly, it is too early for us to say whether the team would be willing to travel to Pakistan. There is still more than two months left and we cannot speculate what the situation will be then. Not much has changed really from the time the tie was postponed.”
“End November means the season will be over and I am not sure how the players will be placed. I will have to talk to them.”
The ITF had, in a statement on August 22, said: “The (Davis Cup) Committee concluded that this is an exceptional circumstance, while the first priority of the ITF is the safety and security of athletes, officials and spectators. The tie has been rescheduled for November, with the exact dates to be confirmed by the Committee no later than 9 September.
“The ITF will continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan and the Davis Cup Committee will re-convene to re-examine the security situation in advance of the tie.”
Bhupathi had then said: “We are happy with the decision taken by the ITF. Hopefully, by November, the situation will improve and normalcy will return.” He had earlier voiced his reservations about making a trip to Pakistan.
