Rohan Bopanna has denied the suggestion that he turned down an SOS to join the Davis Cup team in Pune for the ongoing tie against New Zealand. While confirming that he had been called, at least twice, in connection with the tie, Bopanna said there was no official follow-up confirmation of his being included in the squad. In the absence of an official communication, Bopanna said, he decided against making the trip to Pune.
On Thursday, at the pre-match press conference, non-playing captain Anand Amritraj said that once Saketh Myneni - designated to play doubles alongside Leander Paes besides being the squad's top-ranked singles player - was ruled out with an injury, three calls were made to Bopanna to join the squad.
Amritraj didn't say Bopanna had turned down the offer but went on to say that the team then contacted Vishnu Vardhan, who will now play on Saturday with Paes.
Bopanna told ESPN that he did get calls from national selector S P Mishra and AITA secretary General Hiranmoy Chatterjee, but said there was no official communication. "There is no guarantee that, had I gone to Pune and Saketh or Prajnesh Gunneswaran (reserve player) were fit to play, I would not be told 'Okay, sorry you are not part of the team anymore'," Bopanna said. "Unfortunately a phone call doesn't count for anything today. Even if I want a wild card for a tournament they want us to send an email, even for something as simple as that. In today's world with all the technology it isn't difficult for someone to send out an email making the confirmation official.
"The captain and coach can also make that call to me. I speak to Anand all the time, not just during the Davis Cup. He calls me so many times during the year and we have a chat. When I was dropped Zeeshan Ali sent me a message saying it was not his job to let me know if I was selected or not. Even as a coach he has not called me now to ask if I was available. I don't know whose job it is to do this."
When contacted by ESPN, Chatterjee said: "We were frantically looking for a replacement after Saketh's injury. At midnight, when we were losing our minds over whom to field as Leander's partner, it wasn't feasible to send out official mails. We spoke with Rohan over the phone. It's because he didn't sound keen that we had to opt for Vishnu. Anyway that's all in the past. For now, let's just focus on the tie."
Bopanna, the country's top-ranked doubles player on the ATP circuit, was dropped in favour of Paes when the squad was named in December. The decision was justified on the basis that the management was keen to include three singles players in the squad, leaving space for only one doubles specialist. Bopanna says he was mystified as to why that logic was discarded while seeking to replace the injured Myneni with him. He believes the AITA is refusing to admit that they made a "selection blunder" by picking just one reserve player in Gunneswaran instead of the usual norm of two reserves to back up the main squad of four players.
"I think it is disrespectful to Prajnesh as well who is there as part of the team," he said. "He is there as a reserve for situations like these. When somebody gets hurt, he is already there, is used to the conditions and this is a great opportunity to play for India. Since Saketh was the number one singles player and he is hurt, Prajnesh can step in. He reached the final of a Challenger in that very stadium they are playing in."
Bopanna insists that despite the repeated controversies he finds himself embroiled in with the AITA, he remains available for national duty. However, for the moment he is preparing to leave for Assam for a corporate tournament and will then travel to Rotterdam where he will play with World number 12 Tomas Berdych at the ABN AMRO World Tennis tournament from February 13.
(Additional reporting by Susan Ninan)