EXCLUSIVE: Mahesh Bhupathi alleges 'Divide & rule' by 'flustered' AITA

India's tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi has accused the All India Tennis Association (AITA) of practising 'divide & rule' for the past 20 years with Indian tennis, as he broke his silence on being replaced as India's non-playing captain. Rohit Rajpal was named as the non-playing captain in place of Mahesh Bhupathi by the AITA after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided to change the venue of India and Pakistan's Davis Cup tie to a neutral venue. Mahesh Bhupathi had earlier in the day said that he believed he was still the team's captain and that he had received a call from the AITA informing him about its decision to replace him because he wasn't comfortable going to Pakistan. 

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Mahesh Bhupathi alleges 'Divide and Rule'   

In an exclusive conversation with Republic TV's Sports Editor Suman Ray, Mahesh Bhupathi said, "They don't like it when people raise voices, they like to divide and rule and that is how they have been doing it for the last 20 years within Indian tennis. All the players speaking a single voice kind of flustered them a little bit and they thought let's get rid of the captain and suddenly everybody is looking around wondering what the hell happened?" 

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Mahesh Bhupathi breaks his silence

READ | Sushil Slams AITA, Demands Bhupathi's Reinstatement As Captain

What is the controversy all about?

Former tennis ace and then India's non-playing Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi had written to the AITA earlier, raising security concerns for the players traveling to Pakistan and seeking clarity on the same. This came amid flaring tensions between India and Pakistan, with the former boycotting the latter and not sending the teams to play there over security issues. Bilateral series of any sport between India and Pakistan was suspended over Pakistan-backed terrorism and it's involvement in terror attacks on India. However, the AITA had earlier maintained that the Home Ministry and the Sports Ministry did not raise an objection with the venue of the tie. However, AITA decided to seek ITF's intervention to shift the venue to a neutral venue, citing security concerns and possible threats to the lives of the players.

READ | Players Back Bhupathi; Removed For Raising Security Concern In Pak