Pakistan name Davis Cup squad

Pakistan defeated Hong Kong 3-1 in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II but lost 3-1 to New Zealand last year.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has named the four-member squad for the 2011 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II against Hong Kong that takes place from March 4.

While Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan will represent Pakistan as its top two players, Samir Iftikhar will make his debut in the Davis Cup and Yasir Khan will complete the line-up for the event.

Pakistan defeated Hong Kong 3-1 in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II but lost 3-1 to New Zealand in their second tie last year.

However, Pakistan’s coach and non-playing captain Moshaf Zia believes that the team will repeat the same performance with Qureshi and Aqeel being the main players for the country.

“We’re still relying on the duo because these two are our most experienced players and are technically very sound,” Zia told The Express Tribune. “However, Iftikhar’s inclusion in the squad is a refreshing sight.

“He defeated Yasir and Pakistan’s number two Jalil Khan during the trials and I can say that if I need to use the third player in one of the five matches against Hong Kong, I will definitely choose Iftikhar.”

The team will leave for Hong Kong on February 27 where Qureshi will join them the next day.

The reason behind going to Hong Kong four days before the matches started, according to Zia, was to get acquainted with the courts.

Zia said that this was essential as Pakistan have a habit of playing a close match against their opponents on foreign soil ever since International Tennis Federation took away the Davis Cup ties from Pakistan due to the security reasons.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2011.