Leander Paes

Bangalore: The Asia/Oceania Davis Cup tie between India and Uzbekistan ended in the way it had started — the Leander Paes issue looming large. Once India's non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi began to throw light into the headline-grabbing omission of the Kolkatan, everything else, including India's overwhelming 4-1 victory, faded into background yesterday at the KSLTA Stadium. "We had given Leander a chance to be in the six. He agreed to it and then sulking about not being in the final four was unprofessional on the part of Paes. He should not boast about criteria much. Form is just one of the things that I consider before selecting a player. There are five such aspects," said Bhupathi in a sharp reply to his old mate's allegations of unceremoniously dumping him.