Davis Cup: Leander Paes axed after 27 years of duty

BENGALURU: Exactly 27 years after making his Davis Cup debut, doubles specialist Leander Paes found himself on the sidelines. Dropped from the team for the match against Uzbekistan by his former partner and non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi, the senior pro watched on as fellow reserve Rohan Bopanna took his place in the side.Paes, who began his Cup career as a 16year-old partnering current coach Zeeshan Ali in the 4-1 victory against Japan in March-April 1990 in Chandigarh, wasn't going down without a fight on Thursday. Visibly hurt, the 43-year-old hit out at Bhupathi, suggesting that a mere phone call would have saved him the trouble of travelling from Mexico just to receive the news that he wasn't needed. "Whatever the criterion is, you should stick with it," Paes told reporters. "At one time, it is based on rankings and at other times on likes and personal preferences. Then, it is based on who plays deuce and ad courts. Now, it is on form. On form, you guys know who has played better," Paes, who won a Challenger event in Mexico last week, told reporters.While the 37-year-old Bopanna has had a rough time resulting in a 9-7 win-loss record in 2017, he has reached a final in Dubai with Poland's Marcin Matkowski and won the Chennai Open partnering Jeevan Neduncheziyan. Paes has a 5-7 win loss record this year and is ranked No. 53 to Bopanna's 24.However, Paes said the fact that he had won a title in Leon, which is at a higher altitude than the city, gave him the advantage if form was the criterion. "I'm here to support the country and the Davis Cup based on the criterion I was told ­ form. That being said, the team was chosen two weeks ago based on ITF form in Futures events. I just won an ATP Challenger. Bengaluru's altitude is 920m while Mexico's is over 1800m. When I got here yesterday for practice, I was feeling the ball well. I was told late last night. Mahesh, captain, has the right to choose. Basically the criterion was asked ­ obviously, it was not clear. The criterion is form, which doesn't seem to be the case. I believe in one simple phone call ­ letting me know if I'm needed or not."