I am still Team India captain unless I hear otherwise, says Mahesh Bhupathi

Veteran Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi, on Wednesday, rejected suggestions that he has been replaced as captain of India for the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan stating that he is available and believes he is "still captain". After Bhupathi also refused to travel to Pakistan citing security concerns for the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Monday named Rohit Rajpal, a former India player and chairman of the national tennis federation's selection panel, as the non-playing captain. Bhupathi took to Twitter to comment on the issue.

Another veteran Rohan Bopanna, one of the other players who refused to go to Islamabad because of similar reasons as Bhupathi, expressed his surprise over the AITA changing the captain before the International Tennis Federation (ITF) shifted the Asia/Oceania Group I tie from Islamabad to a neutral venue Meanwhile, the AITA has hit back at the players criticising them for appointing a non-playing captain, stating that it is not their decision to make.

In reply to Bopanna’s statement where he said he was shocked that none of the players was "asked or even informed" that the captain was going to be changed.

"They were not supposed to be informed. It is the committee's decision at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). I spoke to him and I feel he is overstepping," said Chatterjee.

The tie which was earlier scheduled to be held on September 14-15 has now been postponed to 29 and 30 November after a security review by the ITF in August. The postponement had come in the wake of pleas from India to shift the tie to a neutral venue or postpone it given the heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries.