Davis Cup captain Misra steps down after player revolt

India’s Davis Cup captain Shiv Prakash Misra has resigned from his post following the players’ demand to have him replaced. The 70-year-old had earlier said that he was hurt after reading that Somdev Devvarman had led a revolt for changes in the running of the Davis Cup team — which involved replacing him: “I’m very upset to read that Somdev wants me replaced as the captain… he has played some of his best tennis under my captaincy,” said Misra. A Times of India report quotes an AITA functionary as saying: “He (Misra) has written an email to us saying that he wants to step down as captain with immediate effect.” [caption id=“attachment_578044” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Misra was hurt by Somdev and co’s requests. AFP[/caption] Somdev and a host of other players have also asked for an overhaul in the support staff, a larger slice of the Davis Cup prize money for players and players’ opinion in the choice of venues. With the Davis Cup coming up next month, the AITA now has to find a solution to players’ grievances and also appoint a new captain. It also seems that the names suggested by Somdev aren’t acceptable. Somdev was beaten by Tomas Berdych in the Chennai Open last night but said that it had nothing to do with off-the-court issues: “Whatever is going on off the court is not really affecting me. It is just the fact that it was a poor performance.” The AITA are looking into the concerns of the players and hoped for a quick solution: “We are examining their concerns. We have had a conversation with the players regarding the issues they have raised. We will take up the matter in our meeting later this week and are hopeful of coming out with a solution soon,” a top official was quoted as saying. Click here for the the full Times of India report.