Yuki Bhambri Included in India's Davis Cup Squad to Face Serbia

Yuki Bhambri made a return to India's Davis Cup team on Wednesday for the tie against world number 2 Serbia in a World Group play-off match between 12 to 14 September at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association in Bangalore.

Bhambri, from New Delhi, had last turned out for India in the Davis Cup earlier in the year when India took on the Chinese Taipei.

A heel injury had prevented the 22-year-old from participating in India's 3-1 victory over South Korea in Busan.

A six-member team was picked by the selectors to take part in the match against Serbia. Bhambri aside, the other members of the squad are Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna, Saketh Myneni, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. Somdev is expected to be the leader of the squad. Ramanathan and Nedunchezhiyan are the two reserve players.

Sanam Singh, a member of the Indian squad that took on South Korea, has been left out.

Rankings were uppermost in the minds of the Indian tennis selectorial body, chaired by Anil Dhupar, while choosing the players who would find a spot in the team that will take on the Novak Djokovic and Serbia.

The team that was chosen for the Asian Games had come in for criticism. The inclusion of Singh, ranked 391, ahead of Nedunchezhiyan(297) and Ramanathan(305) was a debatable decision.

Tamil Nadu Tennis Association had levelled allegations that there was a bias toward South Indian players and hence they were not selected.

This time with the inclusion of Ramanathan and Nedunchezhiyan, both from Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association vice president Karti Chidambaram was satisfied.

"I am pleased. Both Ramkumar and Jeevan deserve this recognition," Karti was quoted as saying by PTI.

Veteran tennis player Leander Paes will not be involved in the Davis Cup tie against the Serbians. He has made himself unavailable for selection due to personal reasons.

Paes' old doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi will also not be seen in action against the Serbians. Bopanna and Myneni are expected to play doubles. The two of them won their doubles games against Chinese Taipei and South Korea.