ENG vs IND 2025: Sunil Gavaskar slams ECB for not inviting Tendulkar, Anderson to trophy ceremony
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his concerns over the absence of the two cricket icons, especially since the trophy is named after them.
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Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar recently criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for failing to invite Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson to the presentation ceremony of the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The five-Test series between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw. However, Gavaskar expressed his concerns over the absence of the two cricket icons, especially since the trophy is named after them.
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The former India captain compared his own experience earlier this year in Australia, where he was excluded from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy presentation, and only Allan Border was present because the hosts had won. Gavaskar mentioned that a similar thought might have led to both Tendulkar and Anderson being left out of the Oval ceremony.
"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 hand the trophy to the two captains, especially since the series ended in a draw. 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," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
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With no Tendulkar or Anderson at the presentation, India captain Shubman Gill and England skipper Ben Stokes posed beside the trophy themselves. Meanwhile, India clinched the final Test at The Oval in spectacular fashion, bowling the home team out for 367 in a run chase of 374. Mohammed Siraj’s five-wicket haul and Prasidh Krishna’s support sealed the win for the visitors. Furthermore, Gavaskar also pointed out the Pataudi Medal, which was awarded to both Gill and Stokes despite the series being drawn. He stressed the fact that the medal should go to the Player of the Series rather than the winning captain.
"Mostly around the world, administrators are brought in to ensure profits and are quite good at it, but they may not have much knowledge about the history of the sport they are presiding over. So, these little gestures are not in their scheme of things. 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 foolish this idea was of trying to make amends to the Pataudis by retiring the trophy named after them. Every time the series is drawn, the medal can't be presented, can it? Wouldn't it be better, therefore, to award the medal to the Man of the Series rather than the winning team's captain? And what if the captain himself had an ordinary series and little impact on the result? If there had been a result and the Pataudi Medal had to be given to the Man of the Series, it would have been a tough choice, for both skippers were simply outstanding," he added.
Meanwhile, Gill was named Player of the Series for his tally of 754 runs in his first Test series as captain, while Harry Brook earned England’s Player of the Series honours.