Leander to decide team: AITA

NEW DELHI, Sep 14: A decision on the snowballing controversy over Harsh Mankad's omission from the Davis Cup squad rested with captain Leander Paes, All India Tennis Association said today.
"It is a players' issue. There is nothing for the administration to do. The captain must talk to the player concerned," Anil Khanna, Secretary General of AITA, said here.
Mankad, selected as a reserve player for the World Group play-off tie against Sweden here from September 23 to 25, has insisted he be guaranteed a slot in the final team.
Khanna said obliging Mankad would be "unfair to other players".
"The Selection Committee in their wisdom have selected a squad of five, although according to rules only four members make up the team. This was done because the captain has always felt that he could select his best players based on their performance in training," Khanna said.
"As such, the captain is not in a position to guarantee any player (a slot in the team). It would be unfair to other players.
"It will be a 100 per cent captain's decision. It is Leander's call."
Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna are the other members of the Indian team captained by Paes.
Mankad, 25, has 16 Davis Cup matches under his belt with a 6-10 win-loss record. He is the highest ranked Indian on the ATP Tour at 240.
Asked what he thought prompted Mankad to take an extreme stand, Khanna said he could sympathise with the player.
"Harsh (Mankad) is a very competent and committed player. He has put in a lot of self-commitment and his tennis achievements at the highest level are appreciable," he said.