New Delhi: AITA was forced to select one of the weakest Davis Cup teams in recent times on Friday as the rebelling players stuck to their stand despite being offered more concessions in a desperate bid to break the prolonged stalemate.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) continued negotiations with the players till late on Thursday night and accommodated more demands but none of the players made themselves available for the upcoming tie against South Korea, beginning on February 1.
Veteran Leander Paes will now lead the side which will have VM Ranjeet and Vijayant Malik as singles player, both of whom do not feature even in the top-500.
Ranjeet is ranked 517 and Malik stands at 542. Purav Raja, who is ranked 155 in doubles, is the fourth player of the side and will team up with Paes in the doubles.
Surprisingly the better-ranked players N Sriram Balaji (324) and national hard court champion Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (423) also made themselves unavailable, raising speculation that they have also joined the rebel group.
AITA made efforts to appease the disgruntled group by agreeing to consult the players in selecting a physiotherapist instead of approaching SAI.
It also agreed to give business class ticket to all four players even for the Asia/Oceania ties but nothing worked.
AITA still have 10 more days to give a final squad to the ITF but said no change will be made now, reflecting a hardening of stand on their part too.
“There is no more room for the selection at least for this tie. The players have crossed the line,” AITA CEO Hirnomoy Chatterjee said at a press conference.
Asked if Jeeevan and Balaji had also joined the rebellious group, Chatterjee said, “That we do not know, but they did not give us their availability.”
“I am sure this team will bring laurels for the country. We will be able to give a good run (to the rivals),” said Anil Dhupar, Chairman of the six-member selection committee.
The revolting players were given time until Friday to confirm their availability for the tie to be held here but none of them budged from their stand.
SP Misra will be the non-playing captain for one last time while Zeeshan Ali will be the new coach.
AITA described the players’ boycott as unfair and claimed that the Indian players were offered one of best remuneration packages in the entire Asian region and gave the break-up of some of the senior players’ compensation to back their claim.
It claimed that Somdev Devvarman was paid Rs 34.69 lakhs for three ties for his travel, personal coach expenses and prize money. Bopanna was given Rs 30.62 lakhs for four ties and Bhupathi was paid Rs 20.21 lakhs for three ties.
However, AITA has not shut the Davis Cup door on the revolting players, including Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohna Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan, Sanam Singh, Divij Sharan and Saketh Myneni.
Chatterjee said, if the players want to discuss the issue further, they are welcome. “The players have overstepped, they have to come back to line. But we are open to make them more comfortable,” Chatterjee said.
Asked what made even the young players take such a hard stand, the AITA CEO replied,” There may be some ulterior motives. You have to ask the players. But you (players) have to be qualified to talk on these issues.”
AITA again repeated that it will not recommend the names of the players for financial support from the government who refuse to do national duty.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the rebels said, “We are disappointed to note that instead of engaging in discussion with us, the AITA has selected an inexperienced team to represent the country in this crucial Davis Cup fixture.”
Bhupathi added in a tweet: “You better brace yourselves for a Tsunami, we will inflict change.”
Amusingly, the billboard that AITA has put on its gate to welcome fans for the tie has the pictures of rebels Somdev, Yuki and Vishnu. (PTI)