XtraTime Web Desk: The
rescheduled Davis Cup tie between India and Pakistan will be tentatively
held on November 29 or 30 in Islamabad subject to another security review, the All
India Tennis Association (AITA)
said on Friday.
The tie was earlier scheduled to be held in
Islamabad on September 14-15 but was postponed to November after an in-depth
security review by the International Tennis Federation last month.
The AITA said in a press release on Friday that a
security review on November 4 will decide whether the tie can be held in
Islamabad or be shifted to a neutral venue.
“The India vs Pakistan Davis Cup tie will
take place at Islamabad either on 29 and 30th November or 30th November/1st
December,” the AITA said.
“However, the security situation will be
reviewed on 4th November whether the tie can be held in Islamabad or to be
shifted to a neutral venue.”
The ITF’s Davis Cup committee had on August 22
decided to postpone the tie from the earlier scheduled dates of September 14
and 15 following persistent pleas by India to either shift the tie to a neutral
venue or postpone it given the currently high diplomatic tension between the
two countries.
“Following an in-depth security review of
the current situation in Pakistan by independent expert security advisors, the
Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision to postpone the Davis Cup
Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India in Islamabad, due to be
played on 14-15 September,” the ITF had then said.
“The 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 had said that it “will continue to
monitor the situation in Pakistan and the Davis Cup Committee will reconvene to
re-examine the security situation in advance of the tie.”
The tie has become a matter of speculation ever
since Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India citing the revocation of
the special status enjoyed by the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
India had named a full-strength team for the
tie. But after Jammu and Kashmir was turned into a union territory, Pakistan
asked the Indian ambassador to leave their country, halted a goodwill train
service and tried to kick up an international row by continuously issuing
aggressive statements against India.