NEW DELHI: India's Davis Cup team for the upcoming World Group I tie against Sweden sees the return of top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal, while Yuki Bhambri has withdrawn from the contest scheduled for September 14-15 in Stockholm.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) also announced former national champion Ashutosh Singh as the new coach for the national team.
Nagal, who missed the historic tie against Pakistan due to prior commitments, will lead the team on the indoor hard courts in Sweden. Notably absent from the squad is Sasikumar Mukund, currently India's third-highest-ranked player.
Mukund is serving a two-tie suspension imposed by the AITA Executive Committee following his refusal to participate in the Pakistan tie earlier this year.
Joining Nagal are Ramkumar Ramanathan, N Sriram Balaji, Niki Poonacha, and Siddharth Vishwakarma. Poonacha, who debuted against Pakistan, retains his place, while former national champion Vishwakarma makes a comeback. Aryan Shah has been named as the reserve player.
Yuki Bhambri's absence, attributed to undisclosed reasons, creates a potential gap in the doubles lineup. While Bhambri hasn't clarified his withdrawal, sources suggest his omission from the Paris Olympics team might be a contributing factor.
The AITA maintains that Rohan Bopanna, as a top-ranked player, had the prerogative to choose his Olympics partner, which happened to be Balaji.
With Bhambri's absence, the responsibility of doubles might fall on Ramkumar Ramanathan, who might be required to compete in both singles and doubles matches. The team management is exploring various combinations, including pairing Balaji with either Poonacha or Ramanathan.
Rohit Rajpal returns as captain after missing the Pakistan tie due to personal reasons. The AITA opted for Ashutosh Singh as the new coach after considering several candidates, including M Balachandran and even former players like Somdev Devvarman and Aditya Sachdeva.
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