NEW DELHI: India’s Davis Cup tie against Pakistan has now been rescheduled to take place in Islamabad on either November 29 and 30, or November 30 and December 1.
The two-day Asia/Oceania Group 1 match-up will be subject to another security review before the tie, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) announed on Friday.
The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has until September 19 to confirm the precise dates of the two-day tie,” the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said in a statement. “The ITF will continue to monitor the security situation in Pakistan with the host nation and our independent security advisors.”
The tie was originally scheduled to take place at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad on September 14-15. The straining political ties between the two countries due to the Kashmir issue in August, however, prompted the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to approach the ITF to either shift the tie to a neutral venue or postpone the tie by two months.
The tie was earlier scheduled to be held in Islamabad on September 14-15 but was postponed to November after an in-depth security review by the International Tennis Federation last month.
The ITF issued the following statement regarding the tie: “The Davis Cup Committee has determined that the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India will be rescheduled for the week commencing 25 November in Islamabad. The Pakistan Tennis Federation has until 19 September to confirm the precise dates of the two-day tie.
“The ITF will continue to monitor the security situation in Pakistan with the host nation and our independent security advisors.”
In the wake of the ITF statement, the AITA issued its own release: “The India vs Pakistan Davis Cup tie will take place at Islamabad either on 29 and 30th November or 30th November/1st December.
“However, the security situation will be reviewed on 4th November whether the tie can be held in Islamabad or to be shifted to a neutral venue.”
The ITF’s Davis Cup committee had on August 22 decided to postpone the tie from the earlier scheduled dates of September 14 and 15 following persistent pleas by India to either shift the tie to a neutral venue or postpone it given the currently high diplomatic tension between the two countries.
“Following an in-depth security review of the current situation in Pakistan by independent expert security advisors, the Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision to postpone the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India in Islamabad, due to be played on 14-15 September,” the ITF had then said.
“The Committee concluded that this is an exceptional circumstance while the first priority of the ITF is the safety and security of athletes, officials and spectators. The tie has been rescheduled for November, with the exact dates to be confirmed by the Committee no later than 9 September.”
The ITF had said that it “will continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan and the Davis Cup Committee will re-convene to re-examine the security situation in advance of the tie.”
The tie has become a matter of speculation ever since Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India citing the revocation of the special status enjoyed by the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
