PUNE: With the future in mind, Sriram Balaji suffered the axe while Karan Singh got in ahead of Aryan Shah as India named its squad for the Davis Cup Qualifiers Round 1 tie against the Netherlands in Bengaluru in Feb.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Sumit Nagal and Dhakshineswar Suresh, who powered India to a 3-1 win against Switzerland in the World Group 1 tie in September, will be the singles spearhead while Yuki Bhambri, the country’s leading doubles player with a world ranking of 21, will pair with Rithvik Choudary (90) in the doubles. Following an injury to Bhambri, 35-year-old Balaji had partnered Rithvik in the doubles rubber against Switzerland’s Jakub Paul and Dominic Stricker.
“Sumit, DK (Dhakshineswar) and Yuki pick themselves. Despite his low ranking, DK is clearly our No. 2. He is on par with Sumit,” said national selection committee chairman Nandan Bal. “For the third (singles) spot, there is not much difference between Karan (world ranked 471) and Aryan (403). We had to keep in mind the current form and the altitude (of Bengaluru). Karan had beaten Aryan in a Challenger in Australia recently and has a bigger game.”
India Squad: - Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineswar Suresh, Karan Singh, Yuki Bhambri and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli;
- Captain: Rohit Rajpal;
- Reserve: Aryan Shah;
- Standbys: Anirudh Chandrasekar, Digvijay Singh, Prajwal Dev, Arnav Paparkar.
Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey hereK Kumaraswamy is a principal correspondent at The Times of India,...
Read MoreK Kumaraswamy is a principal correspondent at The Times of India, Pune, and covers sports. He has been based in Delhi and Mumbai before shifting to Pune. A PG Diploma holder, Kumar has reported on Indian cricket, tennis, football and motor sports. He has been writing on Indian shooting recently.
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