The crisis that has hit Indiantennis deepened today with the revolting players threateningto pull out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie against South Koreaunless AITA discusses their "legitimate" suggestions forimprovement in the system.
The eight players issued a joint statement and insistedthat their intention is not to challenge the authority ofnational tennis body.
"Given that all the information is now in the publicdomain, we wish to emphatically state that all of us areunited in our stand against certain practices observed in themanagement of the Davis Cup squad. We are not looking tochallenge the authority of the AITA, but are making a genuineattempt to change things for the improvement of Indiantennis," the statement said.
The players repeated their major demands -- change insupport staff, a say in decision making, revised agreement forthe distribution of Davis Cup prize money -- and said they arenot willing to play in Davis Cup unless AITA engages them in adialogue.
"In light of the AITA Secretary General Mr. Bharat Oza'sstatement that the AITA will introduce a disciplinary code forplayers before the Davis Cup tie against South Korea inFebruary and that only those who sign the code will be able torepresent the country, we wish to make it very clear that ALLof us are, regrettably, unavailable for Davis Cup selectionunless the AITA is willing to consider and engage with us onour very legitimate suggestions in relation to the team."
The players said their statement should not be construedas an ultimatum but instead as a platform for change to ensurea better future for Indian Tennis.