PUNE: It might be touted as a historical tie, but for the All India Tennis Association, gagging its players from speaking to the media is the best way to celebrate the team's first visit in 60 years to Pakistan. "Not possible. No players (sic) is allowed to speak with press," AITA secretary general Anil Dhupar responded via text message when TOI reached out to him in Islamabad on Thursday.
Player-media interaction ahead of Davis Cup ties is customary and had been facilitated by the Indian team managers in the past.
Dhupar did not explain the reason for barring the players from interacting with the media. However, it is understood that the AITA had introduced a code of conduct for players in November following a controversy during the tie against Morocco in Lucknow in September when Mukund Sasikumar wore a jersey sporting his personal sponsor's name.
As per the code, players and officials part of the Indian team are barred from interacting with the media a week before, during, and a week after the tie. The moot question is, how is a player in violation of the code if the interaction is official and facilitated by the team manager?
With the players set to compete in an ATP Challenger in Chennai the week immediately after the tie, it remains to be seen whether they would continue to be off limits for the media.
Dhupar is not new to controversies. He refused to nominate Sumit Nagal for the Asian wildcard for this year's Australian Open citing the player's decision to make himself unavailable for the Pakistan clash. Any disciplinary sanction over a player should have been made by the executive committee after due process.
