Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for leaving Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson out of the presentation ceremony for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval.
The five-Test series ended 2-2 after Shubman Gill’s young Indian team pulled off a thrilling six-run victory at The Oval. Despite both retired legends being in England, during the event no one handed over the trophy to captains Ben Stokes and Gill, and in this matter ECB offered no explanation.
In the Sportstar column, Gavaskar questioned the move. “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 give the trophy to the two captains, especially since the series ended in a draw,” wrote Gavaskar. “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 cricketing legend also pointed out that no member of the Pataudi family was present to give the Pataudi medal, calling the idea flawed. “Nobody from the Pataudi family was there either, for the Pataudi medal, which was to be presented to the winning team’s captain. The drawn series showed how silly this idea was of trying to make up to the Pataudis by retiring the trophy named after them,” Gavaskar remarkes. “Every time the series is drawn, the medal can’t be presented, can it? Wouldn’t it be better, therefore, to have the medal for the Man of the Series than give it to the winning team’s captain?”
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