Aisam had expected New Zealand to agree to play the relegation tie in Pakistan to make up for their 2013 actions and was disappointed when that did not happen. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan are scheduled to play their home tie from September 16 to 18 in Christchurch, New Zealand as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) once again deemed Pakistan unsafe for the matches.
Aisam’s decision came as a surprise to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) and his teammates but Aqeel feels his long-time doubles partner’s decision is justified.
Aisam 'to take a stand', withdraws from Davis Cup tie against NZ
“Aisam isn’t playing because of New Zealand’s lack of sportsmanship, basically,” Aqeel told The Express Tribune. “We had a terrible experience with them in 2013. Any world-class player would feel wary of playing with opponents like New Zealand, who had abandoned the tie because they were losing and making excuses about poor conditions of the court.”
US Open’s 2012 doubles finalist Aisam had noted in his letter to the PTF that his decision to withdraw was based on New Zealand players’ insistence to abandon the 2013 Group II tie in Myanmar — which was being hosted by Pakistan. The tie was then awarded to the visitors despite Pakistan’s consistent appeal to continue the game.
Aisam through to US Open doubles quarter-finals
For Pakistan, Aisam’s absence means a major setback as they will only have three regular players competing instead of four.
Besides Aqeel, the other two players in the squad are Samir Iftikhar and Abid Ali Akbar, while the PTF may nominate Babar Ali Khan as the fourth player.
PTF Secretary Khalid Rehman said that Pakistan was unable to hold the tie at a neutral venue, this time due to lack of funds.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2016.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ