ITF shifts Pakistan tie to neutral venue, Rohit Rajpal is India's non-playing captain

In a big relief for India's national tennis federation, world governing body ITF on Monday decided to shift country's Davis Cup tie against Pakistan from Islamabad to a neutral venue, hours after Rohit Rajpal was named captain for the upcoming matches.

The November 29-30 contest has already been rescheduled once owing to security concerns raised by India.

The tie was scheduled to be held in September but was delayed when India expressed concerns about the safety of their players due to the prevailing diplomatic tensions between the two nations after the revocation of Article 370.

"Following a review of the latest advice given by the ITF's independent security advisors, the Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision that the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India on 29-30 November, 2019 must be played at a neutral venue," the ITF said in a statement.

"The ITF and Davis Cup Committee's first priority has always been the safety of athletes, officials and spectators