after more than a year. Top players in the team are Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Shashi Kumar Mukund and Rohan Bopanna, who had expressed apprehension about going to Pakistan due to security concerns. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Saket Myneni and Siddharth Rawat have also been included in the squad announced here by the All India Tennis Association (AITA). AITA typically chooses a five-member team and includes one or two reserve players. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is still considering Pakistan Tennis Federation's appeal in the matter of transferring the match to be held on 29 and 30 November out of Islamabad, but AITA decided to choose the team.
In the absence of top player Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the Indian challenge in the singles category will be led by in-form Nagal (ranked 127) and Ramkumar (267). Mukund (250) and Myneni (267) will be the backup singles players. The team will have three doubles specialists in the form of Bopanna, Paes and Nedunchezhian for the first time. The left-handed player Nedunchezhian has been rewarded for his consistently good performance in the last two years.
Divij Sharan and Prajnesh got a place in that team but after the delay in the match due to security concerns in Islamabad, both of them are now unavailable for personal reasons. Sharan is taking a two-week break after his wedding reception on 23 November while Prajnesh is getting married on 28 November, a day before the start of the match. Paes, who was available to travel to Pakistan, won a history-making doubles match against China in April 2018, after which AITA has not considered his name for selection. Paes became the most successful doubles player in Davis Cup history when he and Bopanna defeated the Chinese pair of Di Zheng and Mao Shin Gong.
Squad: Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Shashi Kumar Mukund, Psyche Myneni, Rohan Bopanna, Leander Paes, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Siddharth Rawat. Non-Player Captain: Rohit Rajpal, Coach: Zeeshal Ali, Physio: Anand Kumar, Team Manager: Sundar Iyer.
