The weather in Nur-Sultan perhaps resembles the frosty diplomatic relationship between India and Pakistan, even as the two squads gear up for their Asia-Oceania Group 1 Davis Cup tie to be played on Friday and Saturday.

It has been snowing in the capital of Kazakhstan with the temperature hovering around minus 11 degrees Celsius.

Not exactly the kind of weather that India and Pakistan players are used to. But India coach Zeeshan Ali was confident that his players would do well.

“The players are hitting well. We had some good sessions after reaching here and we are getting used to the tough conditions,” Zeeshan told The Telegraph.

“The problem is the extreme cold here. It is never easy to play under sub-zero conditions.Injuries can crop up any time. There can be problems with warm ups and cool downs. We are focusing on keeping the players healthy.”

For Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, it will be a dream debut as he’s set to play the doubles tie along with veteran Leander Paes.

Asked how the younger lot (Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sasi Kumar Mukund, Saketh Myneni and Jeevan) are getting along with a senior player like Leander, Zeeshan said: “The younger ones have a lot of respect for Leander.

“They can only benefit from his immense experience.”