ISLAMABAD: Moham­mad Shoaib, Mohammad Abid and Barkatullah were selected after trials, the trio joining the experienced Aisam-ul-Haq and Aqeel Khan in Pakistan’s Davis Cup team for the upcoming Group II tie against Indonesia.

The Pakistan Tennis Federation announced the five-member team on Thursday for next month’s tie in Islamabad where the winners will advance to a playoff for Group I.

“We have nice mix of young and experienced players,” Pakistan coach Mushaf Zia, recently appointed by the PTF after consultations with captain Aisam, told Dawn.

“Our team is good on grass court and I am optimistic that we will produce good results,” he said, adding that a training camp will begin from Sept 1. “We’ll put our maximum efforts to prepare well for the tie.”

Aisam and Aqeel were exempted from the trials due to their ranking but Shoaib, Abid and Barkatullah were three of seven players invited by the PTF for trials according to their national rankings.

The others were Yousuf Khalil, Mudassir Murtaza, Abdullah Adnan and Heera Ashiq while US-based Mujtaba Ali Khan was given a wildcard.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2023