NEW DELHI, Aug 18:
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna today paid the price for their rebellious act ahead of the London Olympics as the AITA today dropped the duo from the Davis Cup team and instead chose youngsters for the next month’s tie against New Zealand.
Leander Paes and singles exponent Somdev Devvarman were not considered after they made themselves unavailable for the tie, scheduled for September 14-16 in Chandigarh.
Sending out a strong message that indiscipline will not be tolerated, the All India Tennis Association took the brave decision to leave out the senior pros and take a step forward in preparing the team for the future.
It will be a new-look Indian team comprising Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan, Saketh Myneni, Divij Sharan, Sanam Singh and N Sriram Balaji competing in the tie.
The squad will be pruned to four before September 2, when the team will be notified to the ITF.
While Paes wants to play in the World Team Tennis competition in Charleston, US, Somdev is still not fit enough for the Davis Cup tie although he will play in the US Open.
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