Pak-India Davis Cup tie now on neutral venue

ISLAMABAD: Citing different reasons, including the ongoing ‘Dharna’ in Islamabad, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has decided to hold the forthcoming Asia/Oceania Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and India at a neutral venue.

The neutral venue for the November 29-30 Davis Cup tie will be announced in a few day times in consultation with the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF).

The News has learnt that the ITF Independent security adviser has advised against hosting the tie in Islamabad under the prevailing situation.

“Following a review of the latest advice given ITF’s independent security advisers, the Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision that the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India on Nov 29/30 must be played at a neutral venue.

The ITF and Davis Cup Committees first priority has always been the safety of athletes, officials and spectators and the decision was made on this basis.

As per the Davis Cup regulations, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) now has the choice to nominate a neutral venue and has five working days to confirm their proposed venue. The venue will be announced once the choice has been submitted and approved,” ITF says in their latest communique.

The News has learnt from tennis sources that the decision has been made on the recent development that saw Mulana Fazalur Rehman leading a Dharna in the heart of the capital.

“India had already sent their team members name and was indicating coming to Islamabad after submitting every detail of their travelling arrangements. Fazalur Rehman ‘Dharna’ that has locked down part of the capital is said to be the main reason of the ITF decision. Had it not been Dharna there, the ITF was adamant to see the important tie in Islamabad,” a source confirmed to The News.

It has been learnt that Indian tennis has written a letter to the ITF just a couple of days back, requesting them that they had fear on players and official safety following new developments in Islamabad. The ITF was quick to respond and has decided to shift the tie on a neutral venue.

On October 23, Indian Tennis had sent a revised list of team along with all the necessary documents for the timely completion of visas for the November 29-30 Davis Cup tie against Pakistan.

The fresh list dispatched on Thursday to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) not only sees Leander Adrian Peas replacing Mahesh Bhupathi as the non-playing captain of the Indian team, but there is also a marked change in the team member list.

The fresh list of the team sees Sunder Narayan Iyer as the manager of the team while the other members are Syed Zeeshan Ali (coach), Anand Kumar (physio), Saketh Sai Myneni (player), Suresh Kumar Manish (player), Rawat Sidharth (player), Arjun Jayant Kadhe (player), Sri Ram Balaji (player) and Sasikumar Mukund (player).