Former captain John Lloyd has criticised Andy Murray's decision to excuse himself from Davis Cup selection.
Murray skipped Great Britain's embarrassing defeat to Lithuania earlier in the month after citing the need for younger members of the squad to gain more experience.
Lloyd resigned following the defeat in Vilnius but the now former captain believes he should have been able to call upon the services of the world number four.
"Call me old-fashioned, but when is it a convenience and not a privilege to play for your country?" he told the Mail on Sunday.
"If England's football team had failed to qualify for the World Cup, would it be okay for Wayne Rooney to turn round and say that he didn't think he'd bother playing for the international team until they had some proper matches, or a team worthy of his time?
"Of course not.
"When did it come about that someone only played for their country when they had a good team?
"Yet the public seem to have accepted Andy should be playing only when the team are in the upper echelons of the competition.
"The reality is that the only way for Britain to get back to the World Group of the Davis Cup is with him in the team.
"With Andy pretty much assured of winning two matches against any other country, out of the five rubbers played over a Davis Cup tie, it's possible, of course, to get back to the top.
"The question is how much do we want that to happen?"