NEW DELHI: There is nothing better than a home tie to groom future Davis Cup stars and the upcoming contest against Togo is a good opportunity to do that, according to India’s Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal.
The Davis Cup squad, which is slated to be played on February 1-2, comprises five member team Sasikumar Mukund, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Karan Singh, N.Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli.
India’s Sasikumar Mukund will be the highest-ranked player in the tie at number 368. He is making a comeback to the squad after playing against Morocco in Lucknow.
Captain Rajpal is delighted that India will get to play at home after playing both their in season 2024 away from home. India’s last four of the five ties have been away, including the historic match against Pakistan in Islamabad.
“Playing in home conditions is always beneficial. We have travelled a lot in the last two-three seasons. The slow, hard courts at the DLTA were ideal if Sumit Nagal had played but still, the conditions will suit us. Maybe the choice could have been grass courts if we knew Sumit would opt out from before, ” Rajpal said, who is also the DLTA president.
Thomas Steodji will be Togo’s key player in the contest, Togo comes in with three wins -against Latvia, Indonesia and Benin.
“I will not say that it will be a cakewalk for us but the tie will give us the option to groom the next generation of players in the Davis Cup environment and playing at home, we can definitely utilize the home advantage and home support”, Rajpal further added.
The Indian Davis Cup team will start its preparation for the upcoming World Group I play-off tie starting from January 23 at the DLTA Complex, the venue for the contest.
Aryah Shah, Chirag Duhan and Yuvaan Nandal have been added to the squad. They will be training along with the Indian team and it will be a great exposure for each of them.
The DLTA is also being spruced up to welcome the visiting team players and officials apart from the home fans, with beautification of the venue. A players’ lounge is also being set up near the centre court.
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