New Delhi: The members of India’s Davis Cup squad seemed a divided lot on Tuesday over Sania Mirza’s decision to stop playing in India for a year.

A day after Mahesh Bhupathi admitted that he was a party to Sania’s controversial decision, Indian captain Leander Paes said an individual can never be bigger than the game and country.

The Olympic bronze medallist was talking to the media after India’s practice session at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) courts.

“According to me, no individual is bigger than the game and the country,” said the Indian tennis icon.

Initially, Paes was reluctant to talk about Sania. “I don’t want to get into all this because I am least bothered,” was Paes’s first reaction when he was asked to comment on the controversy.

He then paused for a moment and said: “But which top sportsperson doesn’t get into controversies? Every celebrity has to deal with controversies at some time or the other,” he said.

“It is all about how you manage to handle it,” Paes said. “It is all about how you project yourself and how honest and dignified you are.”

Paes, a hero of many a memorable Davis Cup battles, made it clear that nothing excites him more than playing for the country.

“For an athlete, the greatest joy is to play for the country and in his or her own country,” said Paes. “That’s what Sania has to be careful about.”

Rohan Bopanna, however, supported Sania. “She has to take so much pressure on the court. And if there are controversies off it then it is quite disturbing. One must understand her problems also,” said the Bangalore-based player.