Sharmila Tagore wants the 'Pataudis' to be associated with Indo-English contests

India, captained by Virat Kohli, are currently playing the second of the five-match Test series against England at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. Three more matches will be played with the last match scheduled to be played from September 7 to 11 at Kennington Oval in London. After the conclusion of the series, Sharmila Tagore, the veteran actress, will hand over the Pataudi trophy to the winners.

The Pataudi Trophy was introduced in 2007 by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in order to commemorate 75 years of Test cricket between England and India. In the meantime, there has been a confusion on whether the series should be named as ‘Pataudi Trophy’ or the Specsavers Test series. Specsavers is the official sponsor of the England Cricket Board (ECB).

The situation as it stands is unsatisfactorily ambiguous

When India host England for a Test series, the series is named Anthony de Mello Trophy and when the Brits host India for Tests, the trophy is named ‘ Pataudi Trophy. In the meantime, Sharmila, the wife of former Indian skipper, late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, has sought clarification on the same and also mentioned that the family want the series to trophy to be named after the Pataudis.

“The Pataudi Trophy was instituted by the MCC quite a few years ago but I am not sure whether it was cleared with the ECB or the BCCI at the time. The BCCI did make it clear that when England play in India it would be called the Anthony de Mello Trophy,” Tagore was quoted as saying by Sportstar from Dehradun.

“Naturally the family would like the trophy to be called the Pataudi Trophy – perhaps it could be called the Pataudi Trophy sponsored by Investec or the relevant sponsor – but we understand that this is the ECB’s prerogative. However, the situation as it stands is unsatisfactorily ambiguous and some clarification is required,” she added.

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