India’s highest ranked singles player Sumit Nagal will lead the country’s Davis Cup team for their World Group I tie against Sweden in September, the All India Tennis Federation revealed on Friday.
Nagal, who had opted out of India’s previous tie against Pakistan in Islamabad, returns to the team for the tie which will be played on indoor hard-court in Stockholm on September 14-15.
Meanwhile, Yuki Bhambri has opted out of the contest and Sasikumar Mukund is reportedly serving a two-tie suspension for opting not to travel to Pakistan.
Bhambri was expected to lead the doubles charge for India with the retirement of veteran Rohan Bopanna, but he will instead be missing in action.
“Yuki was not available for selection and he has not given any reason for his non-availability,” selection committee chairman Nandan Bal was quoted as saying by PTI.
“We were given a list of available players and his name did not figure there, so we picked players who were available,” he added.
Besides Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, N Sriram Balaji, Niki Poonacha, and Siddharth Vishwakarma form the core team for the tie. The 18-year-old Aryan Shah has been named as a reserve player.
There has also been a change in coaching duties with Ashutosh Singh taking over the reins from Zeeshan Ali. The latter has resigned from his position according to Sportstar.
Rohit Rajpal, meanwhile, will continue to be the non-playing captain of the team.
Sweden are ranked 18th in the world and have won the Davis Cup title seven times including in 1987 when they beat India 5-0 in the final.
India Team
Main squad: Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sriram Balaji, Niki Poonacha, Siddharth Vishwakarma
Reserve: Aryan Shah
Captain: Rohit Rajpal
Coach: Ashutosh Singh
