Dubai: For the first time in many years the UAE will have a problem of excess when the squad travels to Colombo for their Asia-Oceania Group III Davis Cup tie on Sunday.
As per regulations each country can have a maximum of four players along with a non-playing captain and coach. The UAE has five players — Omar Bahroozian, Hamad Abbas Al Janahi, Fahad Al Janahi, Abdul Rahman Al Janahi and Faris Al Janahi — who will leave for Colombo on Sunday morning.
“Our coach [Hisham Bramly] could not travel with us to France for the camp. But he has a good opportunity to have a look at the players when we train at the Queen’s Club for a week. Ultimately, one of the players will have to sit out as only four can be in the squad. This is a rather unique situation for a country like the UAE where we have always been struggling with numbers,” Bahroozian told Gulf News.
“But it is also a good problem to have and I am sure our coach will select the best four players in the squad. This is okay situation for us as the one player who will be required to sit out will be a youngster, but we will still have him around with an eye on the future,” he added.
As per the format, the nine teams will be divided into two groups for a round-robin competition that will consist of two singles and a doubles each day. At the end of this, the winner of Pool A will play the runner-up from Pool B and the winner of Pool B will play the runner-up from Pool A with the winners getting a promotion into Group II for the following year.
