India-Pakistan Davis Cup tie shifted to November amid security concerns

The exact date will be announced by September 9

Tennis_Racket_and_Balls-commons Representative image | Wikimedia Commons

International Tennis Federation today announced that India's Davis Cup match against Pakistan, which was to be held in Islamabad on September 14-15, has been postponed to November.

The Asia/Oceania Group I tie had become a matter of speculation ever since Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India citing the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

After rejecting India's security concerns twice, the ITF had agreed to a tele-conference on the issue with AITA representatives.

"Following an in-depth security review of the current situation in Pakistan by independent expert security advisors, the Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision to postpone the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India in Islamabad, due to be played on 14-15 September,” the ITF said in a statement.

"The Committee concluded that this is an exceptional circumstance while the first priority of the ITF is the safety and security of athletes, officials and spectators.

"The tie has been rescheduled for November, with the exact dates to be confirmed by the Committee no later than 9 September. The ITF will continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan and the Davis Cup Committee will re-convene to re-examine the security situation in advance of the tie,” the statement said.

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Mahesh Bhupathi, India's Davis Cup non-playing captain, has informed the All India Tennis Association that his team members do not wish to play the match in Pakistan.

Following Bhupathi's mail, the AITA has requested the ITF to postpone the tie or change the venue. The ITF had maintained that it was satisfied with the current security set-up in place for the Davis Cup tie.

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