Davis Cup: Sasi Kumar Mukund pulls out of Pakistan tie
Indian tennis player Sasi Kumar Mukund has pulled out of the upcoming Pakistan vs India Davis Cup tie due to a foot injury.
Indian tennis player Sasi Kumar Mukund has pulled out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Pakistan due to a foot injury. This means a six-member Indian squad will travel to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
The Davis Cup Asia-Oceania tie against India is scheduled to be played at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan from November 29 to 30.
Mukund is the second Indian player to pull out after Rohan Bopanna withdrew due to a shoulder injury.
Mukund, who was named as a reserve member, suffered the injury while playing a tournament in Portugal.
"Unfortunately Sasi will not travel with us. He has informed that he sustained the injury while playing the doubles with compatriot Purav Raja," India's Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali said.
"I hurt myself," Mukund said. "I can't put my weight down properly due to the injury."
Zeeshan said they wanted N Sriram Balaji to travel to Nur-Sultan but getting visa at such a short notice would not be possible. All the Indian players will receive their visas at the Nur-Sultan airport.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has been forced to pick two rookie 17-year-olds for its Davis Cup encounter against a full-strength Indian squad, after senior players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan pulled out of the tie as a protest against the tie being shifted to a neutral venue.
The Pakistan Tennis Federation has named teenagers Huzaifa Abdul Rehman and Shoaib Khan in the squad to face India, both of whom are ranked 446 and 1004 respectively in the junior ITF ranking list.
Yousuf Khan and Ahmad Kamil, also teenagers, along with Amjad complete the squad.
