Follow UsThe Pataudi Trophy between England and India was recently renamed the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar is not happy with the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) decision to place James Anderson’s name ahead of Sachin Tendulkar.
"The ECB 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,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“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. So, by all accounts, Tendulkar's name should come first.
“This argument that they are going by the letters of the alphabet, where the letter A comes before T, is such a lame one, for there's simply no comparison between what Tendulkar has done and achieved and what Anderson has for their respective countries. Please don’t misunderstand, there's massive respect for Anderson, but as an Indian, for me, Tendulkar will always be above him. I also urge all Indian cricket lovers, including the Indian media, to call it the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy."
Talking about the series-winning captain now receiving the Pataudi medal, Gavaskar added: "The announcement of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy also said that respect would be given to the Pataudis by having a medallion for the captain of the team winning the series.
“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.”