Zeeshan Ali is one of the most low-profile faces in Indian tennis. Yet, for those who have known the character in various avatars – national champion, Davis Cupper, coach and now non-playing captain – he has performed each role quietly.
At almost 54, he has been part of the sport at home for over four decades. His singles exploits in the 1980s were well known, having made it to No. 126 in the rankings on the ATP computer. Son of another famous tennis guru from Calcutta (now Kolkata), Akhtar Ali, Zeeshan has been in the coaching role now for almost two decades.
His latest tryst was indeed a beautiful one, as he championed the Indian Davis Cup campaign against Pakistan in Pakistan, where India won 4-0. “Come on, it was not so bad after all,” said Zeeshan, when reminded that Pakistan had no great pedigree in tennis.
“The story was more about travelling to a nation we have not been to for over 60 years,” he added. “As far as I am concerned, I love challenges and did not shy away this time either.”
Dig deep enough, and Zeeshan will open up if you know him. “It was a real challenge to get the boys together and form a team,” he said. “I mean, Sumit Nagal pulling out of the tie just because he does not like grass is not on. It’s for me, the coach and captain to decide what I need to get from a player.” Zeeshan was quick to add, however, that Nagal in form would have been great.
“Conditions were going to be tough for us, the travel, the unknown and much more,” said Zeeshan in an exclusive chat with RevSportz. “These guys hardly play on grass, the surface Pakistan picked. I think because we managed a camp in New Delhi on grass for a week despite the crazy cold, before the tie, the players were ready.
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“Travelling to Islamabad was exciting and we knew we had to be very careful as there were plenty of restrictions for us. The kind of security we saw was massive and we were state guests. Three layers of security, gun-toting security men guarding us, plus restrictions on crowds due to security, so many things on our mind.” Talking about the hospitality in Islamabad, Zeeshan said it was a voyage into the unknown.
‘’At the end of it, the treatment we got was great and we enjoyed the hospitality accorded to us,” stressed the coach-cum-captain. There was pressure on Zeeshan as he had to perform more than one role and he quickly added, “I should now become the captain!”
Motivating players like Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sriram Balaji called for great man-management skills. “We had that camp in India, so to get used to low bounce on grass and rain before the tie in Islamabad was manageable,” explained Zeeshan. “These boys are mostly playing doubles, so I had more doubles specialists than singles players at my disposal! I asked Yuki Bhambri if he could play singles and he said his knees would not hold up. I had to manage with what I had.”
Overall, Zeeshan felt the players had performed well. “It’s good we won as beating Pakistan is big,” he said. “I could have picked Nikki Poonacha for the second singles on the first day, but that would have been hard on the debutant.”
Players like Ramkumar and Sriram have played Davis Cup before, so it was no step into the unknown. “I honestly feel the restriction on crowds due to security reasons suited us,” said Zeeshan. “It could have been tough for us had there been too many guys rooting for our rivals.”
For all those who say sport in Pakistan is in Is in turmoil, Zeeshan said one still had to go there and win. Having won national titles on grass and hard courts, besides competing in the Davis Cup when Leander Paes burst onto the scene, Zeeshan was very slick on grass as a player.
Perhaps, it was his cunning and acumen that plotted India’s Davis Cup triumph in Pakistan. Had this been a win in cricket against Pakistan, there would have been brouhaha. But then, as Zeeshan says, beating Pakistan is still special.