AITA saying I am fired for refusing national duty is unacceptable to me: Bhupathi

Mahesh Bhupathi says he does not mind being fired as the Indian Davis Cup team's captain but what is unacceptable to him is the tennis federation's allegation that he refused national duty.

Bhupathi, one of the most successful players in India's tennis history, insisted that he never made himself unavailable for the Pakistan tie, which has now been shifted out of Islamabad by the ITF due to security concerns.

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) chose former Davis Cupper Rohit Rajpal as Bhupathi's successor.

"I am not going to sit back after winning 12 Grand Slams and playing for country for 25 years to allow someone to say I am fired because I did not show up for national duty," a fuming Bhupathi told PTI in an exclusive interview.

"I don't mind being fired. They can say it's time for a new captain. But nobody can say that I refused national duty. I genuinely thought it's unsafe to travel to Pakistan which the ITF has validated. So, they are going to penalise me and players for this, it's not going to work."
"I need some form of communication from AITA that I am not the captain anymore. I have not heard anything from them except that since Rohit is fine to travel to Islamabad and I am not, they will take him for this tie. And this was hours before the neutral venue was announced."
"If these guys (AITA) don't want me, I can disconnect but don't tell the country that I did not show up for national duty. That's unacceptable."
"The easiest way to fire me was when we lost to Italy (in February this year). They could have said I did not take the team to World Group so they are firing me. Why have they fired me just before the ITF meeting? There is no logic."
"I am not worried about getting fired. If I am not the right man for the job, so be it. But don't take my name through the mud because I worked my whole life to get my name in tennis. I did not say I am unavailable, I said no one is comfortable going to Pakistan."
When Bhupathi's point was put across to AITA, Chatterjee said, "We have to continue with the old setup until the new captain is in place. We have now chosen the new captain."