Inside story: How Rohit Rajpal became Davis Cup captain

In a dramatic move, that was made worse by timing, All India Tennis Association removed Mahesh Bhupathi as captain for the upcoming tie against Pakistan on Monday, a few hours before the International Tennis Federation announced that the tie will be shifted to a neutral venue.   Sources part of the meeting on Monday claim AITA had no choice but to do it as Bhupathi had made himself unavailable for the tie in Pakistan and because his tenure was already over. Republic TV has also learnt that former player and chairman of the selection panel, Rohit Rajpal, who has been named the new non-playing captain for just this tie, for now, was not the only or most obvious choice.  

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How Rohit Rajpal became captain

Sources say Leander Paes and former captain Anand Amritraj were both considered. Paes was keen to come back to the team as a playing captain, sources say. But AITA decided against it because they felt it is better to avoid issues with a playing captain and stick to a non-playing captain. Amritraj, on the other hand, was keen to come back for a full stint and not just for one tie. But at this junction, AITA wanted no conditions and was looking for a replacement only for the Pakistan tie.  

Rohit Rajpal was then considered, as he has been once before also when Anand eventually took over as the Davis Cup captain. Rajpal agreed to take over just for one tie and insisted he is allowed to speak to players to convince them to go as he was keen to have a full-strength team especially playing against a hostile crowd in Islamabad. All of that has changed of course since ITF has decided to shift the tie to a neutral venue.

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Bhupathi still considers himself as captain

Even though Pakistan has so far not agreed to it and contested the ITF decision, Bhupathi went public saying that he considers himself still the captain because the tie is no longer in Pakistan, which he had refused to go for. But AITA stands firm. They say there will be no going back on their decision as Bhupathi refused national duty. Bhupathi and some senior players made themselves unavailable for the tie due to security concerns. It remains to be seen if any of the players who had initially made themselves unavailable will be considered for the tie. But one thing is certain, Leander Paes is set to be back after not being part of the team for the last two ties.

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