CHENNAI: The Indian Davis Cup team has to travel to Pakistan for their World Group I play-off match in February. If India do make up their mind to go, this will be the first time in over five decades the team will be visiting Pakistan.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) rejected the All India Tennis Association's request to move the matches to a neutral venue. AITA had been appealing to the ITF ever since Pakistan was awarded the tie.
First, they appealed to the 15-member Davis Cup Committee and later, they put up their case to the ITF Tribunal. However, the latter also rejected the appeal on the grounds that Pakistan had recently hosted Davis Cup matches without any issue and India can travel as well.
The report first appeared in Pakistan. According to the reports, the tribunal said that Pakistan have solid grounds to host the tie and "it is pertinent on all the nations to visit the venue (country) selected by the DCC for the Davis Cup ties".
AITA also confirmed the development on Saturday. Though the final call will be up to the sports ministry and the government, the AITA had already announced the Davis Cup squad with Pakistan in mind.
India captain Rohit Rajpal said that since their request has been rejected, India can travel to Pakistan. "The tribunal has rejected our appeal and we have to now travel to Pakistan," is what Rajpal felt. The India captain also said that the team that has been announced would do well on grass.
"I think the matches will be played on grass and accordingly, we have decided on the players," he said. However, he felt that it is not ideal to play tennis with security concerns in mind. The AITA had said that the security of Indian players was a big concern. "We have to be sure about the security as well. The host nation and the ITF will have to take responsibility," he said.
The India captain said that they had requested the ITF because with so much pressure on them it will not be easy to play. "We have already selected the team and it was based on the fact that we have to play in Pakistan. They will most probably play on grass and we chose the players based on this."
The challenges of playing in Pakistan is big because the team will always have security in mind. "Playing under such conditions will always have additional pressure," he said. "That is the point that I had put across to the judge in the Tribunal. This is a game India will be playing there and it should be on a fair and square basis. Which means that the game should be focussed in and around tennis and both teams play a good game and the better team wins. But if there are security concerns then there is added pressure. Why do we need to be in this kind of environment? We reasoned it out with the ITF but this we find unreasonable. We will be asking ITF and the hosts to ensure our security. If there is any liability, it will be on their account."
The AITA would now approach the government for direction. Winning the Group I contest will keep India in the group throughout the season. This is not the first time India have protested. In 2019, the ITF moved the tie to Kazakhstan, a move which was not appreciated by the Pakistan Tennis Federation and their players.
