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Anand Amritaj lashed out at Indian players who turn down call to play Davis Cup for the country.
Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal (PTI)
India singles No.1 Sumit Nagal and doubles No.2 Yuki Bhambri were not needed as N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli were clinical in their effort before Karan Singh dished out an impressive show on debut as India thrashed Togo 4-0 in the play-off tie to keep their place in the Davis Cup World Group I.
Anand Amritraj though is not happy.
The former India Davis Cup captain wants the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to punish the players who missed the tie and miss matches for the country with the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and spots in Olympics and Asian Games being the answer.
“That’s where you should put the screws on them. I think you can definitely do that,” Amritraj was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
“If you’re in any kind of place with some leverage, you should say: ‘Either you play Davis Cup, or you won’t get this’. Simple,” he added.
AITA had refused to send Nagal’s nomination for a wildcard entry at the 2024 Australian Open after he opted out India’s Davis Cup tie against Pakistan.
Incidentally, Anand Amritraj was the captain of the Indian team when Nagal made his Davis Cup bow.
“I like Sumit, but why he would not play… it is really a shame because he is our best player right now. If we play our best team in both singles and doubles, we have a good chance of winning that September match and getting in the World Group,” said Amritraj.
Amritraj also added that the Indian David Cup captain should not have to convince players but they should turn up for national duty on their own.
“The desire has to come from within. The player has to decide before I get into the captain’s chair that he wants to play,” he said.
“To me, it is just inconceivable that if you are ranked high enough and the country wants you to play, you would not play without any financial conversation. Unless you’re injured and can’t walk on the court. Other than that, there should be no question whether you’re going to play Davis Cup. You’ve got 50 weeks in the year to make your money; two weeks you should be able to give to the country you grew up in,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
