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India were drawn against Pakistan in Davis Cup away tie on Wednesday, which is expeted to take place at a neutral venue with the sporting teams of the two sides not travelling to each other’s countries due to political differences.
The tie has to be an away one for India, since they hosted Pakistan in the last tie in Mumbai in 2006. Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes, Prakash Amritaj and Rohan Bopanna were part of that team, helping India win 3-2. However, the current government policy does not allow any sporting team to travel to Pakistan.
Pakistan have not hosted their neighbours in a Davis Cup match since March 1964. India had won that tie that took place in Lahore 4-0. The winner of the tie, which will take place in September 2019, will make it to the World Group Qualifiers.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) said it will approach the government to know if the team will be allowed to travel. Speaking to PTI, AITA Sectretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee said, “AITA does not have a choice. We have to follow the government policy. We will speak to the government to know. They have not allowed any sports team to travel to Pakistan.”
Current non-playing captain Bhupathi was happy to have drawn Pakistan. He was quoted by PTI as saying, “It’s a good draw for us with the depth in our team. We are looking forward to winning and getting back to the World Group Play-offs (Qualfier) again.”
India coach Zeeshan Ali said, “We know Pakistan players well. I am confident that with the team we have now and the way our players are playing and improving their rankings, we definitely hold the upper hand.”
Here is the complete draw:
Americas Zone Group I
Brazil v Barbados
Venezuela v Ecuador
Uruguay v Dominican Republic
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I
Pakistan v India
Lebanon v Uzbekistan
China v Korea
Europe/Africa Zone Group I
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Czech Republic
Sweden v Israel
Finland v Austria
Hungary v Ukraine
Slovakia v Switzerland
Belarus v Portugal
