Vijay Amritraj with son Prakash (left), Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi (right) in New Delhi on Thursday. Picture by Ramakant Kushwaha

New Delhi: India’s non-playing captain Leander Paes sprang a surprise on Thursday by picking up rookie Somdev Dev Varman ahead of the more experienced Prakash Amritraj for the singles in the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan, beginning Friday.

Somdev, 784th in ATP rankings, will make his Davis Cup debut against Denis Istomin in the second singles on the opening day. Rohan Bopanna will battle it out with Farrukh Dustov in the first.

Prakash will partner Mahesh Bhupathi in the doubles on Saturday.

Justifying his move, Paes said the student from the University of Virginia would act as an ‘X factor’ in the tie.

“Somdev comes with an ‘X factor’ since the Uzbeks have never played him before.

“Physically, he is one of the fittest in the team and can play on all three days. His college regimen has made him a complete athlete.”

With Prakash laid low by a stomach bug, it was definitely one of the reasons that forced the Indian team management to gamble on Somdev’s freshness.

“Prakash needs an extra day to recover,” Paes said. “Partnering Mahesh in the doubles will provide him the opportunity to get his rhythm back.”

A flexible Davis Cup rule allows a team to substitute players even an hour before the match. If need be, India can play Bopanna in the doubles with Bhupathi on Friday and keep Prakash fresh for the singles against Istomin on Sunday.

Paes said the decision to field Somdev wasn’t entirely his.

“It was a decision I took after consulting all the team members, especially the seniors.

“I have always believed that Davis Cup is a team effort and we need to spread the responsibility to every member over the next three days. I had to look at the selection in totality.”

Despite the fact that a complete newcomer would cross swords with one of Uzbekistan’s most improved players in recent time, Indians are confident that the surface would play a big role.

“This DLTA surface is tailor-made for Bopanna,” Paes later said. “The grass is not cut and it has low bounce. He should be a runaway winner here.”

Bhupathi hoped it won’t be any problem for the Indians to pocket the tie at the end of Day II.

“I have played with both Prakash and Rohan at practice and I am gelling well with them. We really think we should be 3-0 up by Saturday,” he said.

Uzbeks, it seems, are happy with the way the Indians have chosen their singles players. Istomin, ranked 184, couldn’t hide his grin when he said: “We are happy with the draw. We are looking to be 2-0 up by the first day.”