The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to reconsider renaming the Pataudi Trophy as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. While the BCCI claimed no role in the name change, given that the series will be played in England, they urged the hosts to honour India’s youngest Test captain, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.
The Indian board has written to the English board, requesting that the individual player award be named after Pataudi, whose name has been left out of the nomenclature for India’s Test series in England. According to a recent media story,
The BCCI is working hard to preserve their former captain’s legacy in whatever way possible.
“We have asked them to name one of the post-match awards after Pataudi, and they will get back to us. The ECB determines who the series will be named after. “The BCCI has no role in it because it is their home series,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.
Controversy over renaming the Pataudi Trophy
The dispute over renaming the trophy began when the ECB titled the Test series between India and England after the legacy of the leading wicket-taker among pacers, James Anderson, and the leading run-scorer in the longest version of the game, Sachin Tendulkar. Fans and analysts reacted differently to the move.
Sunil Gavaskar and a few members of the Pataudi family opposed the move. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was one of India’s most successful Test captains. He became India’s Test captain at the age of 21, the youngest ever, and helped the team win their first overseas Test in New Zealand in 1967.
According to sources, the ECB contacted MAK Pataudi’s son, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, about the trophy’s rebranding. The BCCI maintained that the series’ hosts had the freedom to name the trophy as they see fit. Their only desire is to honour their former Test captain’s legacy in the best way possible.
India
