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On Saturday, January 27, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi issued visas to the Indian tennis team to play their Davis Cup World Group I Play-offs tie next month. Notably, the Davis Cup tie between India and Pakistan is scheduled to be held at the Islamabad Sports Complex on February 3 and 4.
This will be the first visit of the Indian Davis Cup team to Pakistan since 1964, when the visitors earned a 4-0 win in Lahore. In 2019, their most recent Davis Cup tie was also won by India with a 4-0 margin at a neutral venue in Kazakhstan after they managed to convince the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to not travel to Pakistan.
Just a few days ago, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) had asked the Indian Sports Ministry to travel to Pakistan after ITF didn’t accept their request to move their Davis Cup tie to a neutral venue.
It led to a statement from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi regarding the issuance of visas to the Indian Davis Cup team on Saturday, January 27, which read, “Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi has issued visas to the Indian Davis Cup team, including the support staff, to play the Davis Cup World Group -1 Playoff Tie between Pakistan and India. The Playoff match is scheduled to be held on 3-4 February 2024 in Islamabad.”
Rohan Bopanna, who is a regular feature in the Indian Davis Cup team, will not be making a trip to Pakistan next month, just days after winning the Australian Open men’s doubles title with Matthew Ebden.
Here is the Indian Davis Cup team scheduled to travel to Pakistan:
Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, N Sriram Balaji, Saketh Myneni, Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, Digvijay SD Prajwal Dev (reserve), and Rohit Rajpal (captain).
