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Gavaskar Lambasts ECB Over Not Inviting Tendulkar, Anderson To Present Trophy Named After Them
Follow UsThe former Indian skipper also questioned the ECB over awarding the Pataudi Medal to the winning captains instead of the Player of the series
Former Indian cricketer and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar was quite unhappy over how the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) handled the post-series ceremony at the Oval, which was drawn 2-2.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was eventually shared between India and England; however, neither Sachin Tendulkar nor James Anderson were invited to be at the trophy presentation ceremony despite both being in England at that time.
“This was the first-ever series named after Sachin Tendulkar and Jimmy Anderson, two of cricket's greatest legends. One would have expected both to be present to hand the trophy to the two captains, especially since the series ended in a draw,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in the Sportstar.
“To the best of one's knowledge, both were in England at the time. So, were they simply not invited? Or was this similar to what happened in Australia earlier this year, when only Allan Border was asked to present the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because Australia had won the series? Since this England series was drawn, perhaps neither was asked to attend the presentation.”
The World Cup-winning cricketer was also unhappy with the fact that no one from the Pataudi family was present to give the Pataudi medal which was shared by Shubman Gill and Ben Stokes. Notably, Gavaskar was one of the few who advocated for the England-India Trophy to remain in the name of Pataudi.
“Mostly around the world, administrators are brought in to ensure profits and are quite good at it, but they may not have much knowledge about the history of the sport they are presiding over. So, these little gestures are not in their scheme of things. Nobody from the Pataudi family was there either, for the Pataudi Medal, which was to be presented to the winning team's captain,” Gavaskar lamented in his column.
“The drawn series showed how foolish this idea was of trying to make amends to the Pataudis by retiring the trophy named after them. Every time the series is drawn, the medal can't be presented, can it? Wouldn't it be better, therefore, to award the medal to the Man of the Series rather than the winning team's captain? And what if the captain himself had an ordinary series and little impact on the result?
"If there had been a result and the Pataudi Medal had to be given to the Man of the Series, it would have been a tough choice, for both skippers were simply outstanding," he added.