India may be much below Italy in rankings, but their non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi Wednesday said his players will not be intimidated by their European opponents in the Davis Cup Qualifiers here next month.
Keeping in mind Italians' weakness on grass, India have opted for grass courts in South Club here for the February 1-2 fixtures which will be played in new format with the winners making a cut to the 18-nation finals in Madrid next year.
"Nothing can be taken for granted. We are underdogs but my boys will not be intimidated. I feel we have a better chance," Bupathi told reporters on the sidelines of the first practice session of the team at the Calcutta Gymkhana Club.
"I think my boys are experienced enough that when Davis Cup comes into play ranking is not really a factor. They have all played at the highest level now, both Ramkumar (Ramantahan) and Prajnesh (Gunneswaran) have played Grand Slams and Tour events," the 44-year-old the multiple Grand Slam champion in doubles said.
Talking about his personal experience as a Davis Cup player, he said, "When I was playing Davis Cup, if I played a top ranked player, it was different for me because I was always competing at the challenger level.
"But with these guys, I don't think ranking plays a factor. I think they actually truly believe that they are capable of beating them (the opposition) if they play well."
"Prajnesh qualified for his first Grand Slam (Australian Open) so he's on an all time high, confidence wise. He's had an amazing breakthrough year last year. He's a late bloomer because of injury but he's definitely brimming with confidence."
"They got two guys in the top 50, so I don't think the equation changes for us. We don't have one guy in the top 100."
"In general sports around the world is trying to get shorter for TV. In the Australian Open, there's a super tiebreaker in the men's singles now, Wimbledon is changing. So yeah, I think everyone will learn to live with it. And it's the way forward in sport."
Asked if India are the favourites to beat the Italians on grass, he said: "If it was that simple, then the Italians wouldn't have shown up. They would have stayed back at home."