KARACHI: Former Davis Cup Captain Hameed-ul-Haq has backed Pakistan team to beat India in the Davis Cup tie next month.
It is to be noted that India’s top three players have made themselves unavailable for the tie. Sasikumar Mukund, Sumit Nagal, who recently upset world number 27 in the Australian Open, and Rohan Bopana, world number 3, are not part of the visiting party.
“In the absence of top Indian players for this tie, Aisam and Aqeel being grass court specialists could secure victories in both singles and doubles matches,” said Hameed while talking to The News.
Hameed also lauded Aisam’s decision of leaving captaincy of the national team for this tie stating that this would allow Aisam to focus more on his singles match.
“But appointing the inexperienced M Abid as the non-playing captain is beyond understanding,” said Hameed, adding that Mushaf Zia would have been a much better choice as he coached the national team to win its last tie against Indonesia.
“Making inexperienced Abid the non-playing captain and coach for such a crucial tie will be disastrous for Pakistan. Is PTF just a puppet organisation that Aisam is dictating them to make such silly changes just ahead of this crucial tie?” asked Hameed.
Also, he added, the decision of holding the training camp in Peshawar is not prudent because grass courts in Islamabad are different from the ones in Peshawar.
“Another bad decision is the induction of Muzammil in the team without trials in spite of the fact that he is not a grass court player. He’s a good clay court player, therefore, I don’t understand what benefit this decision will give to Pakistan,” said Hameed.
The tie will be played at the grass courts of Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad on February 3-4.
