Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar wants the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to be renamed as Tendulkar Anderson Trophy. His recent comments were directed towards it after he was unhappy with how the series was named.
The England vs India Test series was renamed as the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy with both James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar doing the honours of unveiling the trophy ahead of the first Test.
The Pataudi trophy was renamed as the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, which was welcomed with open arms by both teams. Both the cricketers after whom the trophy is named is the best from India and England. While Tendulkar has scored the most runs in international cricket, Anderson has taken the most wickets for England.
Also Read: “A little strange…” – Kapil Dev reacts as Pataudi Trophy gets renamed to Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy
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Sunil Gavaskar Reacts To Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
Gavaskar, in his column for MidDay, spoke about Tendulkar's name coming ahead of Anderson because he is the senior of the two cricketers. He also called in for the correct alphabetical order in terms of naming the trophy.
“The ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] is fully entitled to call the series by any name they choose but for most, if not all, Indian cricket lovers it is jarring to know that Anderson's name comes first. Not only is Sachin Tendulkar along with Kapil Dev the greatest Indian cricketer, but also senior to Anderson by more than a dozen years. He is numero uno as far as runs and centuries are concerned in Test cricket but also at the one-day level too he has more runs than anybody else. Anderson is third in the list of wicket takers in Test cricket and his record is nowhere as good as Tendulkar in one-day cricket. Tendulkar is also part of a World Cup winning team which Anderson has not been. Jimmy Anderson was a terrific bowler but mainly in English conditions and his record away is nowhere near as good as Tendulkar's is. I also urge all Indian cricket lovers including the India media to call it the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy" Gavaskar wrote in his column for MidDay.
The former Indian skipper also suggested that the Pataudi Medal of Excellence which will be given to the series-winning captain should have been for the man of the match in each of the five Test matches.
“I also urge all Indian cricket lovers including the India media to call it the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy.” Gavaskar also reckoned that the Pataudi Medal of Excellence which will be given to the series-winning captain should have been for the man of the match in each of the five Test matches. “Why the captain and what if the series is drawn? That's why it would have been better to have had a Pataudi medal for the man of the match for every Test, culminating in the Pataudi Trophy for the player of the series. This way, the Pataudis will be remembered after every Test match played as well as after the series is finished in England" he further added.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah declared 'GOAT' as English media in awe of his match-winning abilities
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England vs India Series No Longer Named Pataudi Trophy
Gavaskar was one of the first to criticise the retirement of the Pataudi Trophy which India and England played for from 2007 to 2021 in the Test series held in England.
