Davis Cup: Nagal returns to team; Divij dropped

NEW DELHI: Sumit Nagal on Thursday made a comeback to the India Davis Cup team for the away World Group I tie against Norway while doubles specialist Divij Sharan was dropped after falling down in the pecking order.

Besides Nagal, country’s No.1 singles player Ramkumar Ramanathan (ranked 196), Prajnesh Gunneswaran (295), Sasikumar Mukund (431), Yuki Bhambri (571) and doubles exponent Rohan Bopanna (21) have been named in the team as the Nandan Bal-led selection committee picked four specialist singles players.

Arjun Kadhe (519) and Sidharth Rawat (566) are ranked above Yuki but if the Delhi player is to use his ‘Protected Ranking’, he would be in top-100. Of the six players, one will be named as a reserve by captain Rohit Rajpal after assessing the conditions in Norway. So, a five-member India unit will compete on September 16 and 17.

Nagal, who underwent a hip surgery in November 2021, began competing on the circuit in April. In eight tournaments this season, Nagal has won four matches. The 24-year-old last played a Davis Cup tie against Croatia in March 2021, missing the subsequent contests against Finland (September 2021) and Denmark (March 2022).

Divij is now ranked 196 in the world and there are seven India players placed above him apart from the top-ranked Bopanna.