Amritraj was happy that Bhambri will take the court first for India.
Amritraj was happy that Bhambri will take the court first for India.
"I am happy to have Yuki first and then Ramkumar," said Amritraj who conceded it was difficult to fill in for the injured Myneni especially in doubles at the eleventh hour.
"Luckily Vishnu was in Hyderabad after he did not get his visa to go and play in Kazakhstan and he was ready to play." Vardhan said he got a call first from Paes and then Zeeshan.
"I had returned home after working in the gym and got a call first from Leander and then Zeeshan. I readily agreed as Futures and other ITF events come regularly while playing for the country is something special," said Vishnu.
Paes empathised with Myneni s plight.
"I feel sorry for Saketh who I enjoyed playing with when we teamed up against Spain. He came up to me yesterday and said he cannot continue. We all go through ups and downs," said Paes.
About himself, Paes said he was always ready to play for the country.
"I am always ready to wear the saffron and green flag. We all in fact love to do so. We play as a team." Bhambri said he was out for six months due to injury and missed being part of the squad.
New Zealand captain Alistair Hunt, a doubles partner of Paes in his junior days, said the change in the Indian squad "does not affect" them.
The matches will be held in the afternoon and then under lights.
"Our players are used to play in warm conditions, although conditions in New Zealand are never as hot as in India," he said.
The winner of the tie will play against the winner of the Uzbekistan-Korea clash in the second round scheduled between April 7 and 9.
The India-New Zealand tie would also be the first Davis Cup contest to be hosted by this city in more than four decades. Pune last hosted a Davis Cup tie in 1974 when current captain Anand and his younger brother Vijay were part of the Indian squad that played against the erstwhile USSR on grass at the Deccan Gymkhana.
This will be the eighth Davis Cup tie to be hosted by Maharashtra, with the first dating back to the India-Pakistan Eastern Zone first round encounter held between March 31 and April 2, 1963 here which India won 4-1.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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