Rebel players disappointed with AITA

New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS) Indian tennis players who have rebelled against the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Friday said they were disappointed with the national body for having selected an inexperienced team for the Davis Cup Group I tie against South Korea instead of engaging with them in a dialogue.

In a joint statement, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan, Sanam Singh, Divij Sharan, Saketh Myneni, Sriram Balaji, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth said they won't be available to represent India in the Davis Cup till the AITA engages with them in good faith.

"We have just learned the composition of the team nominated by the AITA to represent India at the Davis Cup tie against South Korea in the first week of February. We are disappointed to note that instead of engaging in discussion with us, the AITA has selected an inexperienced team to represent the country in this crucial Davis Cup fixture," the players said in a statement.

"In making each of our suggestions to the AITA, we were guided by our strong convictions regarding what we believed was fair and beneficial to the future of the sport in the country and are dismayed to hear that the AITA has labelled our suggestions 'unfair and unjustified'," the statement added.

The players reiterated their stand saying they won't be available for national duty.

"The AITA's position reiterates and reaffirms our stand, and we are constrained to state that, unfortunately, we will be unavailable to represent the country until such time that the AITA engages with us in good faith," the statement said.

The players, however, wished the young Indian team "all the best" for the Davis Cup tie.

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