A Clash of Constellations

During the past two weeks there have been suggestions from various quarters as to how unbecoming it was for the TWO GIANTS of Indian sport — Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi — to repeatedly spar the way they do. It’s equally unbecoming for a country with a rich Davis Cup history to tolerate it forever. By N. SUDARSHAN.

- N. Sudarshan

Win or lose, there is al-ways time for a round of the long-running,never-ending Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi feud. It doesn’t matter that it’s the start of a fresh innings for an Indian Davis Cup captain. It doesn’t matter that there are impressionable novices in the team who can well do without the drama.

THERE ALWAYS SEEMS to be this competitive zeal to try and touch newer lows. From calling into question the professionalism of a captain to releasing private messages exchanged without asking for consent, the sniping and the bickering have reached abysmal levels.

The latest round started on the eve of the India-Oceania Group I Round Two tie against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru and continued well into the week after it ended. That India won the fixture 4-1 and earned a place in the World Group Play-offs for the fourth successive year was incidental. Paes was livid that he had to travel half-way across the globe from Mexico only to be told that he wouldn’t be in the final four. Bhupathi maintained all along that no one was guaranteed a place.

There are many things which don’t add up. Bhupathi, in early March, after picking the squad had relegated both Paes and Rohan Bopanna to the reserves for “not showing results.” In the conversation with Paes, which was released to the media, he said his doubles combination was undecided. “Logic would say Bops in quick conditions but I would like to decide last minute after seeing form and results over the next 3 to 4 weeks,” he said.

IN THE SUBSEQUENT WEEKS, Bopanna had first round exits at both Indian Wells and Miami at the same hard courts where Denis Istomin — who subsequently pulled out — was supposed to be practising and something that Bhupathi, in the lead-up to the tie, said was inadequate.