Seoul, Sept. 15 -- India will be without their key doubles player Yuki Bhambri in their Davis Cup Qualifier against South Korea after the veteran was ruled out with a thigh injury, forcing the team to rethink its doubles combination days before the crucial contest.
The winner of this match will advance into the finals.
India captain Rohit Rajpal confirmed that Bhambri will not be available for the Round 2 tie.
"Yuki Bhambri is not doing too well with his thigh and may not be available to play the Davis Cup. So, we are working on that area to see what our combination is going to be, which we shouldn't be doing actually during the week before the Davis Cup. But unfortunately, we are having to do that," Rajpal said.
Bhambri had suffered a right thigh strain before his US Open main-draw match and had subsequently been doubtful for the Korea tie.
His absence is a significant blow to India's doubles plans, with Rajpal having previously paired him with Dhakshineswar Suresh. The combination worked effectively during their previous Davis Cup outing against the Netherlands in Bengaluru.
"Last time I played Yuki and DK because Yuki's big strength is his return from ad-court.
And that is the weakness for DK. And Yuki's serve is his weak point and DK has a huge serve. This opposite combination made them a very formidable pair," said Rajpal.
"Yuki would do that. And DK being a big guy and a great volleyer would take the pressure off Yuki's serving. So,
the combination worked very well last time for us," Rajpal said.
India have now been forced to experiment with different doubles combinations, with veteran N Sriram Balaji becoming the team's leading option after breaking into the world's top 50 in doubles.
"Bala is playing very, very well. He is going to be the anchor for doubles this time. And as you know, he has yesterday broken into the top 50 in doubles," Rajpal said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.