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For the straight talking Indian Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi, who has often been trapped in controversies with his erstwhile partner Leander Paes, it was an exercise in diplomacy as he evaded tricky questions from the media during the Australian Open ball kids announcement here on Tuesday.

The multiple Grand Slam champion said it was a “good chance” to be playing Italy at home on grass, but added it was hard to visualise the team at the moment as everyone was resting at the end of the season.

About the possibility of the events of Asian Games influencing the selection of the Davis Cup team, especially the withdrawal of Paes, Bhupathi responded without batting an eyelid that the Olympic bronze medallist had “pulled out with an injury”.

Bhupathi also explained that Paes was expected to deliver the gold at the Asiad and there was no issue as India did win the doubles gold through Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan.

“Sumit Nagal had withdrawn from the tie against Serbia.

“I have been captain of Davis Cup team for five ties and Yuki has played only one of them. I would rather have an injured player pulling out than playing with injury,” said Bhupathi.

Upbeat
He was upbeat about the encouraging signs in Indian tennis in recent months.

“We have never had this much depth in Indian tennis. There is Prajnesh, Yuki and Ramkumar. Many more are just behind them. Karman and Ankita have been having a nice last part of the season,” Bhupathi said.

Obviously, there is enough time for the selectors to judge the form and fitness of the players before deciding the five-member team for the Davis Cup tie to be played in Kolkata on February 1 and 2, 2019.

Source : Hindu