England and India will no longer be playing for the Pataudi Trophy. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and BCCI have decided to rename the trophy after James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar. According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the two legends will unveil the new piece of silverware during the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and South Africa at the Lord’s Cricket Ground on June 11.
England and India will play each other in a five-Test series, beginning June 20 in Leeds, Headingley. The contest will mark the beginning of a new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Until now, the Test series played between England and India was called the Pataudi Trophy. It was named after former India captains Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (his son). The equivalent in India was called the Anthony de Mello Trophy.
The Anthony de Mello Trophy was named after one of BCCI’s founding figures, who also served as the board’s inaugural secretary and president from 1946-47 to 1950-51.
James Anderson is England’s leading wicket-taker in Tests. He is also the most successful pacer in the longest format with 704 wickets to his name. The right-arm speedster had announced his retirement last year.
On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in Tests, with 15,921 runs to his name. The 52-year-old played 200 Tests in a 24-year-long career, spanning from 1989 to 2013.
Recently, the Crowe-Thorpe trophy was also unveiled in November 2024. This silverware goes to the winner of the Test series between England and New Zealand.
Sunil Gavaskar not happy with renaming of the Pataudi Trophy
Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar minced no words as he expressed his displeasure with the authorities deciding to rename the Pataudi Trophy.
Also Read: Gavaskar tells Indian cricketers to reject ECB’s offer after Pataudi Trophy retired
He had urged the Indian cricketers to decline ECB’s request to have their names on the silverware if they are contacted.
“It shows a total lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India. There may well be a new trophy named after more recent players, and here’s hoping that if an Indian player has been approached, he will have the good sense to politely decline — not only out of respect for two former India captains but also to avoid the same fate of having a trophy named after him retired after he is gone,” Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sportstar.
“I, along with loads of Indian cricket supporters, fervently hope that any other Indian cricketer will have the smarts to decline, lest history repeats itself as it has with the Pataudi Trophy,” he added.