Former India captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has weighed in on the recent decision to rename the series from the Pataudi Trophy to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. While the gesture honours two legends of the game, he questioned the order of the names, suggesting Tendulkar’s name should come first.
According to Gavaskar in his column for The Telegraph India, using alphabetical order as the reason is a weak argument when comparing the careers of the two. “Anderson is third on the list of wicket-takers in Test cricket and his record is nowhere as good as Tendulkar’s in one-day cricket. Tendulkar is also part of a World Cup-winning team, which Anderson is not. Jimmy Anderson was a terrific bowler, but mainly in English conditions, and his record away is nowhere near as good as Tendulkar’s is,” he wrote.
“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. There’s simply no comparison between what Tendulkar has done and achieved for his country and what Anderson has,” Gavaskar added. He further urged Indian fans and media to refer to the series as the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, rather than the other way around.
To clarify his intent, Gavaskar also addressed the naming of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, stating that he fully supports Allan Border’s name coming first.
“Before some people start to ask whether I am angling for my name to be ahead of Allan Border for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, let me remind them that Allan, who, by the way, is a good friend, has scored more runs than me and also taken more wickets and catches in both forms of the game. He also captained Australia to their first World Cup win. So, in terms of numbers, he is far better and deserves his name to be first on the Trophy,” he wrote.
On Shubman Gill’s bold decision to bat at No.4
Gavaskar lauded Shubman Gill for both his century and the decision to bat at No. 4 in the ongoing Leeds Test between India and England. He praised Gill for embracing a new and challenging role, and delivering under pressure.
Gavaskar pointed out that it is not easy for a batter who started his career as an opener to suddenly adjust to a middle-order role. However, Gill accepted the responsibility and responded with a fluent hundred on day one.
“For someone who started his career by opening the batting for India, to go lower down the order is a big call and the young man has justified it with this century. It is never easy for someone who is used to going to bat at the start of the innings to wait for his turn to bat, as I can say with my experience,” Gavaskar wrote.
He also highlighted Gill’s technique and stroke play, stating that the No. 4 position suits him well. “With his organised technique and a wide range of shots, he is perhaps best suited for the number where he can stabilise the innings if a couple of wickets fall early or take charge if the openers have given the team a good start. That’s exactly what he has done on the opening day after Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul gave the visitors just the platform they were looking for,” he added.
Proposal on the Pataudi Medal
Gavaskar also raised a question regarding the newly announced Pataudi Medal of Excellence, which will be awarded to the winning captain of the series. He asked what would happen if the series ended in a draw.
To address this concern, he proposed a change — that the Pataudi Medal be awarded to the Player of the Match in every Test. According to him, this would ensure that the legacy of the Nawab of Pataudi is remembered and honoured after each game.
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