Nagal returns to Davis Cup fold after 2 yrs, Yuki comes back

New Delhi: India’s top singles player Sumit Nagal on Friday returned to the Davis Cup squad after a two-year absence while number one doubles player Yuki Bhambri also made a comeback to the national fold after missing two ties as the AITA selection panel picked an eight-member squad for the away match against Switzerland. India will travel to the city of Biel for the World Group I first-round tie, which will be played on indoor courts from September 12.

Nagal’s last appearance was the home tie against Morocco in Lucknow in September 2023 where he won both his singles matches in India’s 4-1 win. He did not travel to Pakistan for the historic tie in February 2024 and also missed the subsequent matches against Sweden and Togo.

Nagal has dropped outside the top-300 bracket due to lack of form and unfavourable results this season. A semifinal finish at the Trieste Challenger in Italy this month has been his best showing this season.

Apart from Nagal (ranked 306), India chose singles players in Karan Singh (403) and young Aryan Shah (442). Sasikumar Mukund (463) and talented Dakshineshwar Suresh (790) will be the reserve singles players for the tie. Top-ranked Bhambri (ranked 35), and N Sriram Balaji (75) are the doubles players chosen in the squad which will have Rithvik Bollipalli (77) as reserve.

Bhambri had travelled to Pakistan and contributed to the team’s 4-0 win against the hosts in Islamabad but has not featured in the national team since then.

The tie will be played on the indoor courts, which are likely to be fast. Nagal’s game is best suited for slower courts.

“Sumit Nagal had a great journey to top-100. He plays at a high level, he can make those adjustments. It’s not going to be easy. In the Denmark tie against Holger Rune, it was a tight match.We have to see what kind of bounce the court offers,” India skipper Rohit Rajpal told PTI.

Asked about Dakshineshwar’s inclusion ahead of a few higher-ranked players, Rajpal said, “We have been studying his game for some time. His hard court game is good. He is 6’5” and has a big serve, and this is going to be an asset on fast indoors courts. I think, he has a crucial role to play in this tie. “We will have practice matches and pick the final team on form, fitness and match sharpness,” he added.

Rajpal also informed that young Manas Dhamne was available for selection only if he was in the playing squad. “I don’t like these conditions but he has a bright future and this time we have accepted his decision. He wants to up his ranking by playing tournaments.” It will be interesting to see Switzerland’s line-up. They had lost to Spain 1-3 in the Davis Cup qualifiers.

Jerome Kym is their highest-ranked singles player at number 145, followed by Stan Wawrinka (156), Marc-Andrea Huesler (170) and Dominic Stricker (205).

Rajpal said rankings do not reflect the right picture of the European players.