On his Davis Cup debut, Sasikumar Mukund walked out of the court cramping, wincing in pain and leaving India down 0-1 against Morocco in September 2023. Not just this, he played wearing a jersey which had India spelt wrong.
That was not the end of the nightmarish debut in Lucknow. The AITA was not pleased and sought an explanation for the faux pas.
Worse was to follow. He refused to travel to Pakistan in January, citing a foot injury and also did not make himself available for the tie against Sweden.
In between, he was banned by AITA on disciplinary grounds when no one had a clue, not even the player that he has been suspended. Captain Rohit Rajpal had assured him that he would have the ban lifted if he made himself available for the Sweden match.
However, he had already committed to play on the Tour and also paid advance to his coach. This further complicated the situation, souring his relation with the national federation.
Cut to January 2025, the same Mukund will be India's best-ranked player for the World Group I Play-off tie against Togo, starting on Saturday.
But Mukund does not like to call himself leader of the pack.
While he is excited to be back to Davis Cup action, happily soaking in the energy of the team environment, he does not like the fact the he, the best-ranked Indian on the court, is languishing at number 360 on the ATP chart.
"Definitely, it hurts a little bit when I read or when I look at the numbers saying the number one-ranked player is 360. This depth, it kind of is disappointing, I have to say, because first I am an Indian tennis fan and then I am a player," Mukund said on his comeback.
"In the past, I was 200 and something and I was number five (in India). But that, you know, was because so many guys were much ahead of me.
"And God willing, that depth is coming soon again, where the number one is inside the top 100, number two is knocking on top 100. Number three is somewhere around 120, 130. So, that's the numbers we had pre-COVID and, hopefully, we can hit that again with all the wonderful talent that we have in the present generation and in the next generation."
That was an honest assessment of the slide that Indian tennis is facing.
Mukund has always been a mature player on and off the court and it reflected further when he refused to be labelled as the leader of the pack for this tie.
"Since I was young, I have always enjoyed the team atmosphere. There was never a time where I did not like the team ambience. Sometimes, the individual tours get a little bit too lonely.
"When it comes to leading the team today, I don't like to use that word because I don't think nobody really leads a team. Each person is very, very important for the team. Even the number six player is equally important in my eyes as the number one.
"If he also does not give the intensity in practice, gives his 100 percent, the number one player can't practice, right? So, for me, I don't like those for myself. I mean, I don't think I want to also say I am leading Team India. I am part of Team India."
India are in a situation where a player outside the top-350 is best ranked since Sumit Nagal, who touched a career-high rank of 68 last year, refused national duty again. He had missed the ties against Pakistan and Sweden in 2024.
Skipper Rajpal though hoped that he will have his best singles and doubles players in Nagal and Yuki Bhambri, back in the fold.
"It's a bit of a complex issue. Tennis is a very brutal game. The players are away from home, playing week after week, travelling week after week. It's really not easy to survive on the tour.
"And when I say we, I mean the support staff, I mean AITA. We all need to be a little bit more sensitive towards these guys. And because they are sensitive themselves, it's difficult to survive out there.
"So, any differences, we need to be more sensitive towards the players. We need to understand their needs. And we already have come a long way in terms of trying to do many things for players. But whatever little is left, and if we're not playing to their sensitivities, we need to do that.
"And I'm sure they're good boys. They've done good service for India before in the previous ties. I don't see any reason why they will not continue to do that. "
Togo does not have a player ranked inside the top-1000, yet Rajpal seemed wary of the opponents.
"Some of the best players in the world don't make good Davis Cuppers because it is a different kind of pressure. You are playing for your country.
"They are hitting the ball pretty good. I mean, we were a little surprised. And they look quite talented as well. Normally, you see Europeans play a certain way. But these guys go over the ball, they go under the ball, they volley well. So, obviously, they have beaten 10 countries," he said.
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