Sumit Nagal has once again refused to play for the country in the Davis Cup. Citing “unreasonable conditions” for his comeback, even though Sasikumar Mukund returned to the national squad on Friday for the tie against Togo. After his suspension was lifted by the AITA Executive Committee. He has been struggling on the ATP tour. Having withdrawn out of a tie against Sweden in September due to a back injury.
He also refused to travel to Islamabad for the January-February match against Pakistan. Citing the grass courts as unsuitable for his style of play. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) selection panel chose a five-member squad. The squad announced on Friday includes the next best-rated singles players. Mukund Sasikumar (368), Ramkumar Ramanathan (393), Karan Singh (473) and doubles Nos. 3 and 4, N Sriram Balaji (65) and Rithvik Bollipalli (72).
Nagal, along with the country’s other top pros, including Mukund and Yuki Bhambri. He had withdrawn from India’s previous Davis Cup match, an away loss to Sweden earlier this year, which sparked outrage. While Nagal, the lone Indian in the singles top 100, cited physical difficulties as the reason for his withdrawal, AITA claimed he requested monetary compensation to compete in the Davis Cup. Nagal had defended this as “standard practice”.
Growing Rift Between Players and the System
Sumit Nagal is now in Australia, preparing for the season-opening Grand Slam next month in Melbourne. There has been plenty of friction between Nagal and AITA, which elected a new group of office-bearers in September but is still being managed by the present committee due to legal challenges. It has been reported that Rajpal, will continue to manage the Davis Cup squad in the 2025 season.
He attempted to persuade Nagal to return for national duty, but he did not react to the email in which the players were asked to confirm their availability. Yuki Bhambri, who missed the Sweden match as well, has withdrawn from the competition. AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar, who is still in office due to a petition opposing the new elections, accused Nagal of purposely ignoring the Pakistan-Sweden connections.
