Davis Cup tie against Morocco: Action against Mukund for not wearing official jersey

New Delhi: The AITA is contemplating action against Sasi Mukund for not wearing the official jersey during the Davis Cup tie against Morocco and has also introduced a players' code of conduct to ensure 'discipline' in future. In the opening singles of the World Group II play-off tie against Yassine Dlimi on September 16, Mukund wore the jersey provided by his personal sponsor and not the one made available by official Indian team sponsor 'OOK' after taking "permission" from skipper Rohit Rajpal.

To make matter worse, the jersey that Mukund wore had 'INDIA' spelt wrongly and the matter was brought to AITA's notice by the team sponsor. The team name printed on the back had an extra 'I'. It may be mentioned that the official sponsor only provided the kit and no sponsorship money was given to either All Indian Tennis Association (AITA) or the players who were part of the tie that India won 4-1 in Lucknow last month.

AITA issued a showcause notice to Mukund on September 28, asking him to explain within seven days why action should not be taken against him for not wearing the official jersey and playing with a jersey that had India written wrongly. On October 3, Mukund sent his reply to the national federation, saying that "shorts received from OOK were not comfortable".

Mukund also wrote that he had taken prior permission from both captain Rajpal and and coach Zesshan Ali to wear the jersey that had his sponsor's name printed. Explaining the spelling fiasco, Mukund wrote that he had received eight T-shirts from his sponsor and unfortunately he picked the only one that had printing mistake. He also lamented that neither the captain nor his teammates noticed when he stepped on to the court. "I have immense respect for my country and I would never do something intentionally to tarnish its image," he wrote and also apologised for the inadvertent mistake.