AITA forms three-member panel on players' grouses

New Delhi - The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Sunday formed a three-member committee, that includes former Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar, to look into players’ grievances and suggest a uniform contract within four months.

AITA secretary Hiranmoy Chatterjee said the committee will also submit an interim report so the that the top players can make themselves available for the Group I Asia/Oceania first round play-off tie against Indonesia at home in April. Justice Deepak Verma (former Supreme Court judge) and M.C.Gupta (retired IAS officer) are the other two members of the committee.

“The committee will be provided with names of top-20 male and female players. They will talk to them and make suggestions to the AITA on forming a uniform players’ agreement that will be binding on both the parties,” said Chatterjee after AITA’s executive committee meeting here.

Chatterjee said since India’s next Davis Cup tie is in April, the committee will submit an interim report that would at least persuade the eleven rebel players to make themselves available for the tie.

“Since the players were in no mood to believe us, we thought the committee can handle it well. And since the next tie is in April, the committee will submit an interim report that would convince the players to make themselves available for national duty,” he said.

Asked if the demands of the rebel players that the AITA had accepted would also be offered to the Fed Cup team, Chatterjee said: “Of course, we have to. Why should we leave out the women tennis players? It should be equal for both the teams.”

Chatterjee said once the committee submits its report, the AITA executive committee will look into the suggestions before formulating a players’ agreement.

The executive committee in a statement blasted Somdev Devvarman for labelling the national body as “unethical” and “unprofessional”.

“We do not understand what has prompted him to make such comments which, according to us, are not based on facts but merely rhetorics. We are amazed that some members of the AITA are also joining the bandwagon for reasons best known to them,” the statement read.