In a surprise move, captain Rohit Rajpal has nominated 34 year old doubles specialist Sriram Balaji as the second singles player along with Ramkumar Ramanathan. Balaji, who has a career high singles ATP Ranking of 287 achieved in 2017, last played a singles match in February this year against Aqeel Khan in the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan, winning 7-5 6-3. Balaji will open proceedings against ATP #238 Elias Ymer, Sweden’s top ranked player.

In the second match, 332nd ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan will take on 604th ranked Leo Borg, son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg. Balaji and Ramanathan are expected to combine for doubles on Saturday against the solid pair of Andre Goransson and Filip Bergevi.

The tie begins in Stockholm on Saturday, 14th September, at 5.30 PM IST. It is expected to be telecasted on Tennis Channel India, available only on Samsung TV Plus devices.