New Delhi: The Indian Davis Cup team for the Asia-Oceania Group 1 first round against Uzbekistan was announced in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Uncapped Vivek Shokeen and Somdev Dev Varman have been included for the away tie in Namangan from February 9 to 11.
Leander Paes has been named the playing captain of the team that also has Karan Rastogi and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya as the fifth player.
With Rohan Bopanna deciding to skip the tie and Prakash Amritraj out injured, Shokeen and Somdev got the chance.
"Bopanna spoke to me and expressed his wish to attempt to qualify for the Grand Slams in doubles this year. He has also got a doubles wild card for an event in Delray Beach (in Miami, USA) this week," secretary-general of All India Tennis Association Anil Khanna said.
Paes cautioned that Uzbekistan would not an easy opponent.
"Even with Rohan in the team, playing Uzbekistan in Uzbekistan is a tough proposition. We have a fresh crop of players and my job is to motivate them and give them the best opportunity," Paes said.
"For me, it is not so much about this result as about trying to set up a team that can make it to the World Group in the future. Being near-sighted is not the way to go about it. We have to prepare these players overtime," he added.
Nandan Bal has been named the coach while Sandeep Kirtane is the assistant coach.
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