New Delhi: Zeeshan Ali announced on Wednesday that he has resigned as coach of India, insisting it was time to focus on the development of the National Tennis Center (NTC).
Zeeshan replaced Nandan Bal as India's Davis Cup coach in 2013, when the country's top players rebelled against the AITA, demanded better playing conditions and refused to play against Korea in New Delhi.
Zeeshan, 54, captained the country in the historic qualifier against Pakistan, which India won in Islamabad earlier this year with regular captain Rohit Rajpal missing the assignment due to personal reasons.
"I felt that now was a good time to tender my resignation as coach of the Davis Cup team. Because, having been captain, I wanted to end my association as coach of the Davis Cup team on a high. I resigned the day before yesterday," he said Zeeshan.
During Zeeshan's tenure, he worked with SP Mishra, Mahesh Bhupathi, Anand Amritraj and current captain Rohit Rajpal.
Zeeshan, son of former Davis Cup coach Akhtar Ali, said it was not a decision that was taken in haste.
"I played Davis Cup for over nine years, coached the Davis Cup team for 11 years and then also captained the team. I don't think there is a person like that in any country that I have had the privilege and honor to do. these three things."
Zeeshan, during his tenure, was not paid for his role many times under the AITA system, but that was not the reason for his decision.
"Captain Rohit Rajpal insisted that I stay. I have been coaching the Davis Cup team all these years and many times I was never paid for it. But money was never the reason I worked with the team. For us, representing to India has a completely different meaning.
"According to the AITA, there is no official contract as such that the coach should be paid. He was doing it simply for the love of the sport, simply because he wanted to be associated with the team and simply because he wanted to help our team." young players and represent India again. It has also been a privilege and honor for me to represent India.
AITA general secretary Anil Dhupar said Zeeshan was being paid enough as NTC director.
"We accepted his resignation. He did it for 10 years. He was paid by NTC, so no additional payment was made to him," Dhupar said.
Zeeshan said that he "won't close any doors" when it comes to the Davis Cup.
"If the AITA wants my help or needs me to intervene in any way possible for the Davis Cup, I will always be available for that.
"I felt like I needed to focus on other things, perspectives and plans that the AITA has for the future as far as the National Tennis Center is concerned.
"It's not just a matter of 2 or 3 weeks of Davis Cup competition. It's a matter of tracking the players' performance throughout the year, communicating with them and that goes beyond just 2 or 3 weeks.
"This is how I have operated for all these years. In all these years, there has never been a situation where the federation or the players have come and said they need a replacement.
"Giving my resignation is not something that happened suddenly. This is something I have been thinking about.
"My whole focus is on NTC. You'll be hearing about that in the coming weeks as well; about the plans that the AITA has when it comes to the NTC. So that's going to take a lot more of my time and focus. "Making sure that the program runs smoothly and making sure the program starts producing the next generation of champions, and that's where my focus and energy will be now."
Zeeshan replaced Nandan Bal as India's Davis Cup coach in 2013, when the country's top players rebelled against the AITA, demanded better playing conditions and refused to play against Korea in New Delhi.
Zeeshan, 54, captained the country in the historic qualifier against Pakistan, which India won in Islamabad earlier this year with regular captain Rohit Rajpal missing the assignment due to personal reasons.
"I felt that now was a good time to tender my resignation as coach of the Davis Cup team. Because, having been captain, I wanted to end my association as coach of the Davis Cup team on a high. I resigned the day before yesterday," he said Zeeshan.
During Zeeshan's tenure, he worked with SP Mishra, Mahesh Bhupathi, Anand Amritraj and current captain Rohit Rajpal.
Zeeshan, son of former Davis Cup coach Akhtar Ali, said it was not a decision that was taken in haste.
"I played Davis Cup for over nine years, coached the Davis Cup team for 11 years and then also captained the team. I don't think there is a person like that in any country that I have had the privilege and honor to do. these three things."
Zeeshan, during his tenure, was not paid for his role many times under the AITA system, but that was not the reason for his decision.
"Captain Rohit Rajpal insisted that I stay. I have been coaching the Davis Cup team all these years and many times I was never paid for it. But money was never the reason I worked with the team. For us, representing to India has a completely different meaning.
"According to the AITA, there is no official contract as such that the coach should be paid. He was doing it simply for the love of the sport, simply because he wanted to be associated with the team and simply because he wanted to help our team." young players and represent India again. It has also been a privilege and honor for me to represent India.
AITA general secretary Anil Dhupar said Zeeshan was being paid enough as NTC director.
"We accepted his resignation. He did it for 10 years. He was paid by NTC, so no additional payment was made to him," Dhupar said.
Zeeshan said that he "won't close any doors" when it comes to the Davis Cup.
"If the AITA wants my help or needs me to intervene in any way possible for the Davis Cup, I will always be available for that.
"I felt like I needed to focus on other things, perspectives and plans that the AITA has for the future as far as the National Tennis Center is concerned.
"It's not just a matter of 2 or 3 weeks of Davis Cup competition. It's a matter of tracking the players' performance throughout the year, communicating with them and that goes beyond just 2 or 3 weeks.
"This is how I have operated for all these years. In all these years, there has never been a situation where the federation or the players have come and said they need a replacement.
"Giving my resignation is not something that happened suddenly. This is something I have been thinking about.
"My whole focus is on NTC. You'll be hearing about that in the coming weeks as well; about the plans that the AITA has when it comes to the NTC. So that's going to take a lot more of my time and focus. "Making sure that the program runs smoothly and making sure the program starts producing the next generation of champions, and that's where my focus and energy will be now."
