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Days after the unveiling of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the Test series between England and India in the United Kingdom (UK), it has garnered a new controversy. Former India captain and one of the greats of the game, Sunil Gavaskar slammed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for having James Anderson named ahead of the India legend, Sachin Tendulkar.
It is to be noted that the ECB prior to the series decided to rename the Pataudi Trophy, England’s home Test series against India. After several months, it was finally renamed to Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and was unveiled just ahead of the opening Test, which is underway at Headingley in Leeds.
He is numero uno: Sunil Gavaskar slams ECB for putting Anderson ahead of Tendulkar
Writing in his column on Mid-Day, Gavaskar was critical of the England board for failing to account for Tendulkar’s career, which stands way ahead of Anderson’s achievements. “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," Gavaskar wrote.
He further went onto compare Sachin’s stature to that of former England pacer, who stands third in the list of highest wicket-takers in Test cricket. "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's in one-day cricket," he added.
Seemingly, Gavaskar did not buy the argument that the series was named in alphabetical order and called it a lame reason fo the explanation. The former India cricketer also questioned the Pataudi medal, which will be awarded to the captain of the winning side. He opined that it should be rather given to the man of the match for every Test.
"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.It would be interesting to hear what Indian cricket lovers feel on this subject," Gavaskar added.
