Davis Cup | Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri to lead Indian charge

The All India Tennis Association had tipped Leander Paes to make a return to the Davis Cup team ahead of the upcoming tie against neighbours China. The 44-year-old could become the first player to win 43 Davis Cup ties if he is able to win the doubles tie in the Asia/Oceania Group I encounter versus China.

Paes, who recently returned to the top-50 world ranking, will be joined by the likes of Yuki Bhambri, Ramanathan Ramkumar and Sumit Nagal who are in the team due to their individual performances along with long-standing veteran Rohan Bopanna. Divij Sharan, who was ranked 44th in the world and is currently two spots ahead of Paes, had been named as a reserve in place of the dropped Purav Raja.

Paes’ place in the team was under a cloud of mystery as he had earlier been dropped from the team by then-captain Mahesh Bhupathi which led to a nasty war of words between the two. But his impressive performances of late seemed to have impressed the AITA personnel, as they deemed him suitable to claim a place in the squad.

AITA President Praveen Mahajan, in a press release, was quoted saying, "the best team should represent the nation and I wish the Indian team all the very best."