Tennis veteran Mahesh Bhupathi has been named as non-playing captain of India’s Davis Cup team. He will take over the reins from Anand Amritraj after the New Zealand fixture in the Asia-Oceania zone tie, which is scheduled to be played between February 3 to 5 in Pune.
The tie against New Zealand will be Amritraj’s last tie as non-playing captain as AITA wants to give him a “farewell”, PTI reported.
“Everybody should get a chance to be captain. No post stays with one person forever. I personally spoke to Mahesh and asked if he is available, he said ‘Yes’. That was it. Also we wanted Anand to be given a farewell tie,” AITA Secretary General Hiranmoy Chatterjee was quoted as saying by PTI.
Amritraj’s tenure attracted criticism for a lack of discipline within the team. However, he had the support of the players to stay on with the team.
Asked if players were taken into confidence since they had rallied around Amritraj, Chatterjee replied: “It’s not their prerogative. We don’t need to consult the players. Even Leander Paes was not consulted.”
Speaking about the strained relationship between Paes and Bhupati and whether the latter’s elevation would prove to be end of the road for the former, Chatterjee said: “We will cross that bridge when it comes.”
On Wednesday, reports had also suggested that Somdev Devvarman was also being considered for the role of coach. Chatterjee clarified that there was no communication with either Somdev Devvarman.