India may miss Davis Cup fixture in Pakistan

The Indian tennis team is unlikely to travel to Pakistan for the Davis Cup clash against the latter slated to be played in February next year due to the alleged travel bar.

India could potentially have to forfeit the Davis Cup play-off against rival Pakistan as the local tennis association revealed Thursday that the team was waiting for approval to visit Pakistan.

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) sought approval from the sports ministry to travel to Pakistan after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) tribunal rejected a request to move the fixture to a third country.

"The proposal is still pending with the ministry, and we are awaiting a decision," said AITA secretary-general Anil Dhupar.

Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) president Salim Saifullah Khan mentioned that 18 members of the Indian squad had applied for visas for the World Group 1 clash scheduled for February 3-4.

"We have all the arrangements put in place. They will be given the best security and accommodation. Let politics be kept away from sports, and better sense prevails," he added.

New Delhi last hosted the Pakistani tennis team in 2006, and the Indian Davis Cup team last visited Islamabad in 1964. According to India Today, a 2019 match was moved to Kazakhstan due to political tensions, as cited by the AITA.

Sports matches between India and Pakistan are infrequent due to decades of hostility. They have a significant sporting rivalry in cricket, the most popular sport in both countries.

However, bilateral series between their cricket teams have not taken place in over a decade, and they usually encounter each other in larger tournaments.

India declined to travel to Pakistan for the 50-over Asia Cup in September, leading Pakistan to relinquish hosting duties to Sri Lanka.

In the following month, the Green Shirts visited India for the ICC World Cup 2023 after its request to host some matches in a third country was rejected.

Earlier, Saifullah Khan at a media talk on Tuesday (December 26) announced the national squad that will take on India.

“We have retained the same team that had won the recent tie against Indonesia. International Aisamul Haq will be the playing captain of the team. The team also includes Aqeel Khan, Mohammad Shoaib, Mohammad Abid and Barkatullah. This is the best combination when it comes to playing on the grass courts where we are going to hold the tie,” said Salim Saifullah, who was also accompanied by PTF EVP Khawar Hyat and SVP Saeed Khan.

The Indian contingent includes ITF-ranked players Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sriram Balaji, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni, Niki Poonacha, and Digvijay Pratap Singh. Others include Rohit Rajpal (captain), Zeeshan Ali (Coach), and Ashutosh Singh (coach). Anand Kumar, Debashish Das (official), Dr Anil Jain (President) and his wife Mrs Vandana Jain. Anil Dhupar, Sunder lyer, Sunil Yajaman, all officials, are also named in the list.