Internet Desk: Veteran tennis star Leander Peas has been dropped from the Indian team for the Asia/Oceania Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan which will be held in Bengaluru from April 7 to 9.
India’s non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupati on Thursday chose Rohan Bopanna instead of Leander to pair with Sriram Balaji in the second round Davis Cup tie in Group 1 of the Asia/Oceania zone. Paes, who made his Davis Cup debut against Japan in 1990 at Jaipur, has been dropped from the Davis Cup team on form for the first time in 27 years.
Bopanna and Balaji will play the doubles match against Farrukh Dustov and Sanjar Fayziev. Bopanna is ranked 23rd in the world which is much higher than Paes’s (34) rank.
Ramkumar Ramanathan will now spearhead India’s singles challenge in place of injured Yuki Bhambri.
Ramanathan will face Temur Ismailov in the first singles rubber tomorrow. Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who replaced the injured Bhambri, will then take on Fayziev in the second singles rubber.
In the reverse singles on Sunday, Ramanathan will face Fayziev and Gunneswaran will play the final rubber against Ismai.
Paes is currently locked at 42 with Italian legend Nico Pietrangeli and is one win away from the record for most doubles wins in Davis Cup history.