Mumbai: India's top-ranked singles player, Sumit Nagal, remains absent from national representation, as his name was not included in the squad for the upcoming Davis Cup World Group I play-off against Togo, scheduled to take place in New Delhi this February.

The team announced on Friday includes the next highest-ranked singles players: Mukund Sasikumar (368), Ramkumar Ramanathan (393), Karan Singh (473), along with doubles players N Sriram Balaji (65) and Rithvik Bollipalli (72).

AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar stated, "Nagal has not responded to any emails sent by AITA regarding his availability for the tie." He further noted, "He has previously missed Davis Cup ties, suggesting he may not wish to represent the country."

Earlier this year, Nagal, along with other prominent players such as Mukund and Yuki Bhambri, withdrew from India's last Davis Cup match, an away defeat to Sweden, which sparked significant controversy. While Nagal, the only Indian player ranked in the singles top 100, attributed his withdrawal to physical issues, AITA claimed he had requested financial compensation to participate. Nagal defended this request as "standard practice."

Currently, Nagal is in Australia preparing for the season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne next month. Tensions have existed between Nagal and AITA, which elected new officials in September; however, due to ongoing legal challenges to the elections, the current committee remains in charge.

Mukund, who has previously declined to participate in Davis Cup ties and faced reprimands from AITA, has now been reinstated. "Mukund's suspension has been lifted by the committee," Dhupar confirmed.

Bhambri, now ranked as India's No. 2 in doubles behind Rohan Bopanna, who has retired from national duty, continues to remain absent from the team.

The squad that suffered a 4-0 defeat in Sweden has seen the exclusion of teenagers Aryan Shah and Manas Dhamne, along with Siddharth Vishwakarma and Niki Poonacha. Karan, aged 21, has been called up, as has Rithvik, who has achieved a ranking of world No. 72 in doubles and is poised to make his Grand Slam doubles debut at the Australian Open.

India has not presented its strongest line-ups in recent Davis Cup matches; however, against Togo, which features only one player in the ATP rankings (Thomas Setodji at 1259), this should not significantly affect the outcome.

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