He was speaking to the media soon after arriving in Johannesburg on Friday, to join his fellow team-mates for the tie.
"I have been around for more than ten years and I'm not concerned about arriving only a day before the matches get under way," Bhupathi said.
"I'm used to this," he added.
Bhupathi said he would miss his fellow doubles player, Leander Paes, who was forced to pull out, after he suffered a shoulder injury during the recent US Open in New York.
Paes won the men's doubles with Lucas Dloughy of the Czech Republic after beating Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas in the finals.
India's number one singles player will be Somdev Devvarman.
South Africa's singles players are Rik de Voest and Izak van der Merwe.