The players’ revolt against Indian Davis Cup captain Leander Paes seems to be falling apart with one of the disgruntled players Karan Rastogi on Tuesday backing out of it, saying he has sorted out the issues with his skipper and was willing to play under him.
“It’s about time. After looking at personal things and speaking to the Federation, I have sorted out all the issues with Leander,” Rastogi told PTI.
“Basically I am willing to play under any captain. Playing for the country is a matter of pride and that comes before any personal ambition,” he added.
Rastogi — along with Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj — raised a furore by writing a letter to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) refusing to play under Paes. The quartet had demanded a non-playing captain for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Japan in April.
Rastogi refused to elaborate on why he first chose to be a part of the revolt and said he was pulling out of it as it was affecting his game.
“I am out of it. I discussed it with my parents this is the end of the story but I am not going to get into details ... how, when and why it happened,” he said.
“Obviously there were some issues otherwise I would not have signed the letter but I am the smallest guy in this issue. Everyone has his own ways ... it was affecting my game and I don’t want to get my game affected and that’s my stand,” he asserted.
Rastogi said his decision was not influenced by AITA.
“This is my own decision and nobody else’s. I want to focus on my practice and matches. Unnecessarily it became big. But my career is more important than these controversies,” he said.
No change in stand
However, top players Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna sticking to their stand of not playing under the multiple Grand Slam winner, adds PTI.
An unrepentant Amritraj and Bopanna said the problems have been going on for a couple of years and it was important to have a good relationship among the team members while playing for the country.
“I stick to my stand. It has been going on for a few years and it is not good for Indian tennis,” Prakash, son of the legendary Vijay Amritraj, told a television channel from the US.
Bopanna said the biggest problem with Paes was that he hardly ever communicated with the team.
“He hardly has any interaction with the players. There is hardly any communication. It is not good for the team”, Bopanna said.