Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi headline India’s Fed Cup squad for the Asia/Oceania Group 1 matches in Kazakhstan in February.
India’s squad also includes Pranjala Yadlappalli, Prarthana Thombare and Rutuja Bhosale. Vishal Uppal will be the non-playing captain of the team, while Ankita Bhambri will be the coach.
The team will assemble in Delhi on January 27 for a three-day camp before leaving for Astana. The matches will take place in the week starting February 4. Also in Group 1 are hosts Kazakhstan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and Pacific Oceania.
The tournament will follow a round-robin format. There will be two pools – one of three teams (Pool A) and one of four teams (Pool B). The winners of each pool will play-off against one another to determine which team will advance to the World Group II play-offs in April 2019.
The teams that finish third in each pool will play-off against each other to determine which nation will be relegated to Asia/Oceania II in 2020. The team finishing fourth in Pool B will be automatically relegated.
In February last year, Raina and Thandi had helped India retain their place in the Asia/Oceania Group I by beating Chinese Taipei 2-0 in the relegation play-off in Delhi. India had lost to Kazakhstan and China in their group last time, beating only Hong Kong.