Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian cricket player, has voiced his thoughts about the Pataudi Trophy being discontinued starting with the next series. India and England’s bilateral red-ball series in England will no longer be referred to by the same name. This follows a number of rumours that said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) intended to remove the title from the next series between the two teams, which was set to start on June 20 of this year.
The alleged choice was deemed “disturbing” by Gavaskar. Additionally, he said that the call seriously diminishes the contributions that Mansoor and Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi have made to Indian and English cricket.
“It’s alarming to see that the ECB plans to retire the Pataudi Trophy, which is awarded to the victor of the England vs. India Test series in England. Although the ECB has complete control over the choice and may have notified the BCCI, this is the first time a prize named after a retired player has been heard of. In his essay for Sportstar, Gavaskar said, “It demonstrates a complete lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India.”
I hope another Indian cricket player would be wise enough to say no: Sunil Gavaskar
The former Indian cricket player, who played five matches for his country with Tiger, also talked about two key reasons why he believed other Indian players would turn down the ECB’s offer to have their names attached to the series, should the governing body ever approach them.
“It is hoped that if an Indian player is approached, he will have the good sense to politely decline, not only out of respect for two former Indian captains but also to avoid the same fate of having a trophy named after him retired after he is gone. There may be a new trophy named after more recent players. “I, along with many Indian cricket fans, sincerely hope that any other Indian cricketer will have the intelligence to decline, lest history repeat itself as it did with the Pataudi Trophy,” Gavaskar continued. “The ECB is quite right to name the trophy after one of their own players.
India has only triumphed once in the five Pataudi Trophy series that have been played thus far. England dominated the 2011; 2014; and 2018 series. The most recent occurred in 2022, when both teams won two games apiece in a five-match series that ended in a draw.
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