Former Indian cricket players have criticised the England Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision to change the Pataudi Trophy’s name to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Former cricket players and close friends of former India captain and icon Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi denounced the decision as a disrespect to elders and the cricketing community, while the Indian board, also known as the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), approved the ECB’s plan.
Former first-class cricket player Saad Bin Jung, who is descended from the Pataudi family, said he found the move perplexing and believed that individuals will stop at nothing to gain notoriety and glory. According to him, the cricket community no longer respects those who participated in the decision.
When a cricket player permits a trophy to be taken away from a former Indian Test captain and renamed in his honour, it is perplexing. Saad Bin Jung stated via Mid-Day, “This shows a complete disregard for the cricketing community and his seniors in the game.”
“It shows how far people would go to gain fame or distinction, even if it means displacing those who came before them as Indian cricket leaders. You’ve lost all respect in my eyes and the eyes of the cricket community as a whole for doing this,” he said.
Yajurvindra Singh on Pataudi: “He played with one eye and led India for more than ten years.”
One of the finest Indian cricketers, Pataudi led India for more than ten years with a single eye, according to Yajurvindra Singh, who played four games for India at the highest level. He stated that the BCCI ought to have turned down the ECB’s suggestion because he believed that many players, like Ranji and Milburn, did not dedicate themselves to cricket as Pataudi did.
“Retaining the Pataudi Trophy is absurd. In my opinion, Tiger was among the best Indian cricket players ever. Greatness personified, he played with one eye while leading India for more than ten years! At the top level, I can’t think of another international cricket player playing as well as he did. Ranji, Milburn, and numerous others made unsuccessful attempts. Singh said, “The BCCI ought to have intervened prior to the England and Wales Cricket Board’s proposal.”
As the top wicket-taker and run-scorer for England and India, respectively, Venkatapathy Raju, the former Indian spinner, could understand why it was named after James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar.
But he thought it was needless to remove the former Indian cricket player’s name.
“Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-scorer and Anderson the highest wicket-taker [against India], so maybe that was the reasoning behind this decision, but discarding the Pataudi Trophy entirely feels unnecessary,” Raju stated.
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