Indian Davis Cup team: Doesn't smell like team spirit

All's not well in the Indian Davis Cup team. It seems hunky-dory from the outside, but something's brewing. The indications are plenty.

Yuki Bhambri, a vocal advocate of all things young, is said to be dead against the presence of "oldies" (read Leander Paes) in the team. The problem with Bhambri is he seldom backs talk with performance. Saw what he did in Bangalore? Lesser-ranked players beat the pulp out of him during practice sessions.

Many say he has an "attitude problem". Not once during the epic doubles tie on Saturday did he stand up and cheer for Paes and Rohan Bopanna. The rest of the players barely took their seats. It was that kind of a contest. Not once during his largely-spineless display on Sunday-Monday did he acknowledge the presence of seniors who were egging him on. That's not done.

Players the world over are crying for the on-court presence of coaches/trainers in ATP tournaments and Grand Slams. And here, Bhambri was ignoring the advice and encouragement of some really big names in Indian and world tennis.

dna has reliably learnt that the team flirted with the idea of fielding Rohan Bopanna in the fifth and final rubber. But the Coorgi's inactivity as singles player prompted them to go in with Bhambri. Every other person at the KSLTA Stadium was convinced that Bopanna would have put up a much better show against Filip Krajinovic.

Captain Anand Amritraj defended Bhambri to the best of his abilities. "Look, just because he doesn't show his emotions like Leander or, for that matter, Somdev, it doesn't mean he is not up for the job. Even during my partnership with (brother) Vijay (Amritraj), I was the one who did all the fist-pumping. Vijay was usually quiet and balanced," he said.

Paes, who conceded Bhambri had a bad day in the office, refused to discuss the perceived "lack of spirit" in the youngster. "That's not to be discussed here. It's something internal, something within the whole team. And that is something we will work on. It is not to be spoken about in the media space," he told dna.

Asked if he deserved to keep his place in the side with players like Ramkumar Ramanathan around, Bhambri said, "I don't think so. The selection is done on the basis of rankings. I am ranked much higher than him. But he will be around. And we will see more of him. But right now, I don't think (there is any threat to my place in the side)."

Amritraj also played the rankings card when dna asked him about the availability of other players. But didn't Arnaud Clement, France's Davis Cup captain, stun one and all by naming Richard Gasquet ahead of Gael Monfils for the Davis Cup semifinal tie against the Czech Republic last weekend?

"Yeah, that's right. He did," Amritraj said. "But I am largely happy with this team. It was probably just a bad day for Bhambri. Had someone offered me a 2-3 scoreline, say, 10 days ago, I would have taken it. But we want to win every time we play. Unfortunately, that didn't happen today."

Come to think of it, 11 of India's top players had gone on a strike against AITA last year. Most of their demands –– including a larger share in prize money –– were duly met with. It remains to be seen how the team addresses these issues now.