Davis Cup: Manas Dhamne earns maiden call-up to India's main squad

popcorn number2 descManas Dhamnersquos current singles ranking in India he is ranked 362 in the world classDefaultManas Dhamne on Monday earned his first callup to Indias main Davis Cup squad while the team management has retained the core that produced a historic win over the Netherlands for the crucial Qualifiers Round 2 tie against South Korea in Seoul on September 1819World number 362 and countrys number two singles player Dhamne has been knocking on the doors of the senior team He joins Indias singles group comprising seasoned campaigner Sumit Nagal ranked 235 and Dhakshineswar Suresh Raned 393 the breakout star of the previous tie in BengaluruYuki Bhambri Ranked 28 and N Sriram Balaji Ranked 57 form the doubles combination Sidharth Rawat 536 and promisning youngster Arnav Paparkar who has been competing in junior Grand Slams have been named as the two reservesMost players selected themselves Manas was not available for the previous tie this time he was While he is in the main squad the captain will decide if he suits the conditions or the other singles players Arnav is in side as we need to groom the future generation a selection committee member told PTIThe selection reflects continuity after Indias remarkable 32 victory over the Netherlands in Bengaluru in February which took the country into the second round of the Qualifiers for the first time since the Davis Cup format was revamped in 2019Dhamnes inclusion is the only major change to the main squad with Nagal Suresh Bhambri and Balaji retaining their places The 19yearold has been among Indias promising young players and his elevation gives the team another singles option ahead of the hardcourt contest in SeoulDhakshineswar meanwhile has gone from a promising squad member to an automatic singles choice after his extraordinary performance against the Netherlands The 26yearold won both his singles rubbers and also partnered Bhambri to victory in the doubles becoming the first Indian in recent memory to contribute to all three wins in a Davis Cup tieHis biggest moment came in the deciding fifth rubber when he defeated world No 162 Guy Den Ouden 64 764 to seal Indias 32 win A day earlier he had stunned world No 88 Jesper de Jong in straight sets before returning to the court on Sunday morning to help Bhambri win the doublesDhakshineswars Bengaluru heroics were particularly significant because India had been up against a Netherlands side ranked sixth in the Davis Cup standings His threewin haul helped India register its deepest run in the competition for 15 years and set up the September meeting with KoreaKorea meanwhile also came through a 32 thriller in the opening round overcoming Argentina in Busan after trailing 12 Soonwoo Kwon and former Australian Open semifinalist Hyeon Chung won the finalday singles rubbers to send the Koreans throughThe winner of the Seoul tie will qualify for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna in November giving India an opportunity to reach the elite stage of the competition for the first time in the current formatIndias fivemember squad for the tie isSingles Sumit Nagal Dhakshineswar Suresh Manas DhamneDoubles Yuki Bhambri N Sriram BalajiReserves Arnav Paparkar Sidharth RawatThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever