Indian tennis legend Anand Amritraj prepares to bid goodbye to his role as the Davis Cup team’s non-playing captain as another great, Mahesh Bhupathi, replaces him. Amritraj’s contract as the non-playing captain will expire this month, three years after he was appointed.
India’s Group 1 Asia/Oceania zone first round tie against New Zealand in Pune from 3 to 5 February will be Amritraj’s last tie in the position.
All India Tennis Association Secretary General Hiranmoy Chatterjee said:
Everybody should get a chance to be captain. No post stays with one person forever. I personally spoke to Mahesh and asked if he is available, he said ‘Yes’. That was it. Also we wanted Anand to be given a farewell tie,”
Asked if Amritraj is happy with the decision, Chatterjee said “No one wants to go. But everyone deserves a chance to be the captain”. Chatterjee also said that the team, including Leander Paes, was not consulted with regard to the decision since it wasn’t the players “prerogative”.
He didn’t even deny the fact that Amritraj’s leeway to players as far as discipline is concerned was an issue, along with his views to the media. Chatterjee also said that Bhupathi has not demanded any special favours and has simply said yes to the job.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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