Poor planning main reason behind loss to India: Hameed

KARACHI: Former Davis Cup captain Hameed ul Haq has said poor planning was the main reason behind Pakistan’s loss to “India’s B team” in Davis Cup.

“Pakistan’s poor planning coupled with illogical demands by Aisamul Haq resulted in losing the best chance to win against India in the absence of their top two singles and top double player,” said Hameed while talking to The News.

He added that the Indian tennis federation had sent their B team to succeed in their mission and even for that they had well researched Islamabad weather, the venue and the surface.

“The Indian captain considering Islamabad’s conditions instructed the Delhi Gymkhana groundsmen to leave water on grass courts at night so the balls would become heavy, slow and low bounced.

“Pakistan team on the other hand switched to Peshawar to practise for a high-bounce feel. The decision to train in Peshawar was solely Aisam’s personal agenda,” said Hameed.

Also, he said, the Indian team requested ground staff at Delhi Gymkhana not to use heavy roller so as to stimulate low bounce similar to what they expected in Islamabad.

“Moreover, the Indian team asked their players to practise for the singles matches two months before the tie whereas Pakistani team didn’t seem even remotely serious for such an important tie,” said Hameed.

He added that the Indian players were not caught off guard, and adapting to local conditions became easy as they were well-prepared to negotiate the conditions even before landing in Islamabad.

“The Indian players trained well in those conditions for a week before landing in Islamabad,” said Hameed, adding that the same conditions welcomed them here, as the city experienced rain twice in the week.