CALCUTTA, MARCH 31: Finally, after days of dithering, Indian Davis Cup captain Jaideep Mukherjea stated the obvious. Mahesh Bhupathi is out of the singles beginning on Friday in the Asia-Oceania Group I Relegation tie against China. And, it will be Syed Fazaluddin who will be the second singles player for the hosts.``As of now, Fazal (Fazaluddin) is playing. But, tomorrow if Mahesh feels that he will indeed be able to play then I will have to decide accordingly,'' Mukherjea said after practice at the South Club centre court on Wednesday.Mukherjea didn't even have to think twice about fielding Fazaluddin, son of the former National football coach, Syed Nayeemuddin. Because, Prahlad Srinath, the third member of the team according to the ATP rankings, would be simply be a no-no on grass. Not that Fazal is ideally suited for grass.The only factor that went in the Calcutta boy's favour was that he has been doing well in practice and seemed sharp. However, the Bhupathi option in doubles is still not ruledout in the event of the team splitting the two singles on the first day, Mukherjea will have to field the world's third-best pair on Saturday.The decision to rest Bhupathi seemed the most obvious thing for the captain to do. But, as usual, he wanted to see how he would fare in practice. He did practice but it is doubtful whether Bhupathi wanted give his heart to this tie, when there was so much at stake in the weeks after this.``The injury has healed. But he may still be short of confidence,'' team doctor Dr Vece Paes said. ``In these type of injuries the healing and the conditioning after that are equally important. He has to be careful that the injury doesn't recur.''So, it was Fazaluddin who had a first feel of the lush green centre court along with Leander Paes. Bhupathi, meanwhile, knocked around in one of the outside courts with Srinath and reserve Vijay Kannan. However, Bhupathi still said he would make a `decision' tonight while making polite conversation with assembled mediamen.That couldbe attributed to the minor traits of diplomacy he may have picked up while travelling all over the world and playing tennis for a living. Soon after practice in the morning, he even visited the race course with his coach Enrico Piperno in tow. And considering that he is playing for high stakes these days, it is hoped that he would have put his money on a dark horse.Like the majority of ties in the last couple of years, once again it will be Paes who has been burdened with the responsibility of winning three rubbers and saving India from a major embarrassment. But then he is not in his jovial self these days. What with rumours of pressure-induced problems in the team, Paes seems to spend his time during breaks more lost in thought than cracking a joke or two to his teammates as he normally does.Maybe, he will have lot of think about these days. His partner's injury and the number of points he will have to defend in the coming weeks all add up to the pressure.
