Davis Cup India vs Togo: With Nagal, Bhambri missing, mantle of securing Group 1 playoff tie falls on Ramkumar, Mukund

India are without their singles no. 1 Sumit Nagal and doubles no. 1 Yuki Bhambri, who are presently playing connected the ATP Tour. Meanwhile, the aged office-bearers of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) proceed to beryllium beforehand and centre aft a petition, filed by erstwhile players Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja, successful the Delhi High Court has halted the work of the results of their latest election.

With that successful the background, the team’s singles situation volition beryllium spearheaded by World No. 365 Sasikumar Mukund and World No. 406 Ramkumar Ramanathan. The opposition, though, is considerably weaker. Only 1 of their players, Thomas Setodji, is connected the ATP rankings, occupying the World No. 1256 spot. Setodji though, is French-born and bred, albeit of Togolese descent. His vocation precocious fertile was 764.

The team’s singles situation volition beryllium spearheaded by World No. 365 Sasikumar Mukund and World No. 406 Ramkumar Ramanathan

India’s non-playing skipper Rohit Rajpal was cautious earlier claiming India are the overwhelming favourites, stressing however overmuch the champion players volition beryllium missed.

Rajpal did not laic the blasted connected Nagal, whose nationalist tiff with AITA has lasted implicit a twelvemonth and resulted successful him missing 3 ties, oregon Bhambri, who was besides missing successful Sweden. Both person not specified their reasons for missing the tie.

“It’s a analyzable issue. Professional tennis is brutal, players are distant from location and travelling week aft week and we request to beryllium a small much delicate to these guys, request to recognize their needs,” helium said.

The load of work volition past autumn connected Mukund, who is scheduled to play 2 important singles matches– the opener against Liova Ajavon connected Saturday and past the 4th rubber against Setodji connected Sunday.

Mukund mislaid his debut Davis Cup rubber successful 2023 aft cramping successful humid conditions successful Lucknow successful India’s World Group 2 necktie against Morocco. It was Nagal who had stepped up to brushwood speech the lower-ranked absorption then. Later, his unavailability for the ties successful Pakistan and Sweden was followed by a suspension connected ‘disciplinary grounds’, and helium publically vented his vexation with the governing assemblage – determination seems to beryllium a taxable determination – but the 28-year-old returns this week to pb the broadside successful the lack of Nagal.

In the lone doubles necktie connected Sunday, Olympian N Sriram Balaji volition squad up with debutant Rithvik Bollipalli – some apical 100 players – successful the lack of the higher-ranked Bhambri.

Fixtures:

Saturday (February 1):

Sasikumar Mukund vs Liova Ajavon

Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Thomas Setodji

Sunday (February 2):

N Sriram Balaji/Rithvik Bollipalli vs Thomas Setodji/Padio Isak

Sasikumar Mukund vs Thomas Setodji

Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Liova Ajavon