India would be looking to youngsters Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj to deliver the goods when they take on Korea in the Davis Cup tie this weekend, former captain Ramesh Krishnan said.
Krishnan said the onus of fetching the singles wins rested on Bopanna and Amritraj in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 first round tie in Changwon, Korea, from February 10 to 12.
"This is the time for them to deliver," Krishnan, a member of the Indian team that reached the 1987 final, said.
"We can count the doubles in favour of us. We need two other singles rubbers.
"Obviously, Hyung Taik Lee will be favoured for the two singles matches but we need the two singles points, whichever way we win.
"Therefore, it is up to Prakash (Amritraj) and Rohan (Bopanna) to deliver," he said.
Bopanna and Amritraj made a sensational start to the season when they reached the doubles final at the Chennai Open ATP Tour event in January. But Krishnan felt that performance would not matter when it came to playing Korea.
"Both had a good Chennai Open, which was one month ago. In the Australian Open, neither of them came through the qualifying," he pointed out.
"One needs to keep the momentum going. One month is a long time. What you played last week counts this week. Consistency is the most vital aspect in tennis."
The Indian team, including captain Leander Paes and reserve player Karan Rastogi, have assembled in Changwon, near Busan. Doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi was yet to join them though.
India lost to Sweden at home in the World Group play-off last year. It was the fifth time in six years the team had reached that far but failed to break into the elite division.
The last time India were in the World Group was in 1998 when they lost to Italy in Italy in the first round.
Krishnan, who was the non-playing captain from 1999 to 2003, said a combination of factors, including Paes' ageing, had made things difficult for the team.
"For the last few years, we have been realising that the Asian teams are getting tougher... the problem comes when you have to travel. And the sign of any good team is that how well it travels," Krishnan said.
"For many years, we have been depending on Leander (Paes) and he was getting three points for us in each match.
"Now he is able to play only doubles. All these problems have surfaced now."
