India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi has made it clear that only one of Leander Paes or Rohan Bopanna will make the final cut when the six-man squad for the tie against Uzbekistan in Bangalore from April 7-9 is pruned to four.
Speaking to ESPN after the squad was named in Delhi, Bhupathi said he would "like to go with a 3-1" combination for the tie, leaving room only for one doubles specialist to accompany the three singles players. Bhupathi, however, insisted that this formula would not be set in stone when teams are chosen in the future.
"I have spoken to all the boys and I have told them that I would like to have a squad of six and it is not about this tie, it is about trying to build a team and get back into the World Group," Bhupathi said.
"They've all bought into my thought process and I am pretty excited about that. Both Leander and Rohan as well as the other four have said they are going to be there, whether they play or not, and support the team. It is a bunch of boys ready to put their hand up if they are called.
"It depends from tie to tie. I am also not averse to a 4-0 composition. A lot of the top teams in the world, such as Argentina, don't have a doubles player on the team. So there's no mathematics to it. I maintain it depends on the opposition and how good their doubles combination is and how we need to play against them. I think with Uzbekistan, I would like to go with 3-1."
Bhupathi's remarks are significant in the light of recent events. For the tie against New Zealand in February, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) had followed the same formula, but controversially dropped the country's highest ranked doubles player Bopanna in favour of the veteran Paes.
Bopanna had voiced his disapproval of the decision at the time and refused to join the squad at short notice in the absence of a formal call-up when Saketh Myneni, who was meant to play doubles with Paes, had to pull out with injury. Vishnu Vardhan was called up as a late replacement and he and Paes lost to Artem Sitak and Michael Venus in four sets.
Bhupathi insists he will ensure there is no repeat of such controversies with him as captain despite his own well-documented disputes with the AITA in the past.
"As far as I am concerned there will be never be any issues in the Indian Davis cup team because I know everyone personally," he said. "I know how to manage the team and how to manage the expectations. What happened before will not happen under my watch. I can promise you one thing, that will never happen again.
"I have been working with them (AITA) very well since I was named captain. We have been in constant dialogue on balls, on venue, on location, and on composition of the squad. Everyone out here is there to support the process because we understand how difficult it is to win in Davis Cup and that is the goal."
Another sidelight to India's Davis cup campaigns in recent times has been Paes' pursuit of the world record for most doubles wins in Davis Cup history. At the moment Paes is locked at 42 apiece with Italy's Nicola Pietrangeli.
It was murmured - without any official comment - that the decision to drop Bopanna for the tie against New Zealand was to allow Paes to complete the milestone. Bhupathi said that while he would like to see Paes get the record, the foremost priority was to ensure India won the tie.
Bhupathi also rejected the notion that his well documented off-court fall-outs with Paes in the past would have a bearing on them working alongside each other, claiming their relationship is now cordial.
"After him the person who wants him to get the record most is me because I am half that record," Bhupathi said. "It will come into play sometime but this is not the priority. The priority is for India to win the tie.
"There is absolutely no problem in our relationship. We had lunch in Dubai last week. It has all been media hype. Last few years we have practiced a lot together because we live right next to each other. There's absolutely nothing wrong with our relationship. He's excited that he may play with me on the bench and I am excited to be able to captain him. It's all good."
Bhupathi debuts as captain in his hometown Bengaluru and says the decision to play the tie in the city was made after considering the conditions that will favour India's players. His immediate goal is to ensure India qualify for the elite 16-team World Group and Bhupathi is confident that the current group of players can help him achieve that objective.
"For the first time in a long time, we have a group of boys that we can rotate and we can pick from depending on the surface," he said.
"Davis cup in India has always been about two players, whether Vijay and Ramesh, then Ramesh and Leander, then Leander and Mahesh etc. But now I have a squad of six singles guys and four doubles guys who can easily be rotated so it is exciting. It is my first tie so let me start and let's see how it goes.
"Jaideep Mukherjea was my first captain but I have heard some amazing stories of Naresh Kumar and how he ran the team and how disciplined the team was. I hope to leave my own impression on the team whenever my term is over, and hopefully it's a good one."