Khuraish can be our bogeyman

Pakistan could be Sri Lanka’s biggest obstacle at this years Davis Cup Division Three tournament to be played in Iran come the month of April.

Aruna Seneviratne who is a part of the selection committee of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) speaking to The Sunday Times said: “It will all depend on whether Pakistan will select their top player Aisan-ul Haq Khuraishi. This player is ranked in the top 150 of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). I think his absence was the main reason they were demoted to Division Three. Thus if he plays they could be quite a handful. At the moment we still do not know whether Pakistan will select or if he will be available for Davis Cup duty. We are not that worried about their second ranked player because Harshana Goddamanne has beaten him before.”

Seneviratne added: “The other tough team in our group is Iran because they have home court advantage. We are not sure what the weather will be like in April. But we believe that it will be not be as hot and humid as it here. On the contrary it is likely to be quite cooler. As for the other two teams, we have beaten both Malaysia and Vietnam before. I believe that we have a good chance gaining promotion to Division Two especially if Khuraishi is not playing.”

When asked about Sri Lanka’s preparations, Seneviratne said: “From eight players, we have pruned the pool down to six. These six players name Dinusha Wijesuriya, Gayanga Weerasekera, Sanka Atokorale, Micheal Siyaguna, Arthu Hewacottage and Udith Wickremasinghe are playing each other on clay which will be the surface used for the Davis Cup. Most probably Rajeev Rajapakshe will come in for the doubles. It was Rajapakshe’s work constraints which prevented him being selected for the singles as well. As for the final team composition, we are still waiting on two players based in the United States of America. These two players have to inform us whether they can get time off from their respective universities to play some trials here and also train for the Davis Cup itself if selected.”

Vasantha Wijesekera will manage the team and Rohan De Silva will be the non playing captain. Outlining Sri Lanka training schedule for the Davis Cup, Seneviratne said in conclusion: “Chrishantha Perera will coach the players while they are here. We have appointed Dominic Utzinger to coach Sri Lanka’s Davis Cup team. What we are looking at is a six week training programme in Thailand where both Utzinger and Godamanne are based. Then a short training stint here before taking wing to Iran.”