Bangalore: India will start favourites against Indonesia in the upcoming Davis Cup tie but coach Zeeshan Ali said they will not take the visitors lightly in the relegation play-off tie, starting April 5.
"Sure, we have an all win (5-0) record against them, but we will not take them lightly as it is a 'must win' tie for us after the defeat against South Korea in February," Zeeshan told reporters here. Zeeshan regretted that India were unable to field a full strength squad against South Korea.
"It was a missed opportunity and we could have won that tie with full team and later at home in October, we could have played Japan on home courts. But I am glad all the boys are back and are keen to put on a good show." Zeeshan said that the team is yet to finalise the doubles combination. "Either it could be Leander Paes with Yuki Bhambri or Leander and Sanam Singh."
Zeeshan said that Indians would practice every day from April 1 from 3 pm to get used to conditions under lights. Incidentally, the singles matches are scheduled at 3 pm on the first and third day of the tie. The two practice players, Ramanathan Ram Kumar and Arjun Khade arrived along with reserve players, Vijayant Malik and Sriram Balaji. Team captain S P Misra also landed in the city in the evening.
Somdev Devvaraman, Yuki Bhambri and Sanam are expected to arrive tomorrow night, while Leander, who has reached Mumbai, plans to spend Easter Sunday there and arrive here on April 1. The Indonesian squad is slated to arrive in the city on April one. Meanwhile KSLTA stadium is being spruced up for the tie.
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