AITA retains Paes as Davis Cup team skipper

New Delhi: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has deferred taking any decision on players' revolt against Davis Cup team skipper Leander Paes till April.

So Paes will lead the team against Japan in April.

The AITA says there will be no change in India's Davis Cup squad against Japan and has also requested Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to play together in the Beijing Olympics which is to be held from August 8-24, 2008.

The issue of Paes not enjoying the confidence of his Davis Cup teammates came to the fore during the tie against Uzbekistan earlier in February.

The problem started when Paes did not name Prakash Amritraj for the first singles tie against Uzbekistan though the youngster returned for the reverse singles and pulled off an emotional win over Farukh Dustov to clinch India the tie.

Prakash and Rohan Bopanna then led the revolt against Paes as Davis Cup captain.

The duo was not willing to back down even if it meant not playing for the country in the next Davis Cup tie.

"If he is still made the captain, we are definitely not going to play on the tie," Bopanna had told CNN-IBN.

Prakash, at the centre of the latest controversy, was also pretty vocal about the discontent that the two boys have had in the team.

"My biggest grievance in the whole incident during the tie against Uzbekistan is that Leander was lying. He went to press and said he had discussed the team strategy with me whereas the fact is that we have no say in the decisions made in the team. There are no team meeting, no team discussion. The entire team feels one way and Leander feel another way," Prakash said about his discord with Paes.

Prakash said that the issue can be resolved if a non-playing captain is appointed.

"We need a non-playing captain who doesn't have so much responsibility and who can focus just on captaincy. We need a captain who can hold the team together," Prakash said.

Even Bhupathi backed the idea of having a non-playing captain.

"There are issues and the best way out is to have a non-playing captain. Leander definitely has got good leadership qualities. He was the leader when we played doubles together and he led the team. But there is too much on his plate right now with the media outburst and all and I think pressure leads to doing silly things," Bhupathi, who has a long-running feud with Paes, said.

He has also hinted that the Indian Express (the name given to Bhupathi-Paes pair) would not come together for the Beijing Olympics.

"The Beijing Olympics is still some months away and knowing me and Leander there are still a few good controversies between now and Beijing," he said on Thursday.