"Sania will be back tomorrow (Wednesday) from Hyderabad and depending on what her doctor says, she will play other matches," non-playing captain Enrico Piperno said Tuesday.
"She will not play tomorrow as I don't want to risk her against Singapore," Piperno told reporters during the team's evening practice session.
Piperno had said Tuesday morning he would decide on the final team composition only an hour before the start of play after conferring with Sania on her ankle injury.
He said Ankita Bhambri had recovered from her foot injury sustained during an International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Mumbai this month, and would play Wednesday.
"Ankita's foot is now perfectly all right, so she might get a chance to play. Shikha Uberoi will definitely be playing one of the singles matches," he said.
India has been clubbed with China, Singapore and Kazakhstan in Pool A of Group I, while Pool B comprises Australia, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
The winner of the two pools will progress to the World Group playoff in July.
India's second match is against Kazakhstan Thursday and they play China, the top-ranked team in the pool, Friday.
The other matches in Pool A will see Kazakhstan take on China, while in Pool B, Australia play New Zealand and Korea play Chinese Taipei.
Sania has for some time been carrying an ankle injury that has stubbornly refused to heal completely, hampering her performance at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Florida.
Piperno said winning the Group I stage of the Asia-Oceania Fed Cup against top teams like China and Australia would be tough even with a fully fit Sania. The Indian team had a practice session at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) courts Tuesday morning and the players returned in the evening for another session.
"The sessions have been going on fine and the team is preparing well. I think that our chances against Singapore are very bright," Piperno said.
He had earlier said that since the tough match-up against China was later in the week, he was hoping Sania stood a better chance of recovering and featuring in the crucial clash.
Uberoi was hopeful Sania's absence would not affect the team. "Sania's absence will not affect us and we have just as good a chance. But it is unfortunate that she's not fit," she said.
"I wish she plays, but I would rather that she doesn't if she's not there yet and takes care of her career and body."
Four other teams - the Philippines, Syria, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - will compete in Group II simultaneously, with the winner and runner-up progressing to Group I for next year's Fed Cup Asia-Oceania tournament.
In a Group II tie, Syria beat Turkmenistan 2-1. In the second match, Uzbekistan took an unbeatable 2-0 lead against the Philippines ahead of the doubles encounter, which is now of academic interest.
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