‘His record nowhere near as good as Sachin's': Gavaskar says ‘jarring' to see England pacer's name first in Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar voiced his displeasure after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently renamed the prestigious Pataudi Trophy as the Anderson-Tendulkar last week in honour of James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar, with the England pacer named before India's batting maestro in the relaunched Test series.
In his column in the Mid-Day, Gavaskar slammed the ECB for failing to understand the magnitude of Tendulkar's, which he considered to be ahead of England pace legend Anderson's achievements. While Tendulkar remains the highest run-scorer (34,357) in international cricket, Anderson retired last year as the most successful pace bowler of all time with 991 wickets across formats.
'The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) is fully entitled to call the series by any name they choose, but for most, if not all, Indian cricket lovers, it is jarring to know that Anderson's name comes first. Not only is Sachin Tendulkar, along with Kapil Dev, the greatest Indian cricketer, but also senior to Anderson by more than a dozen years,' Gavaskar wrote.
Gavaskar also urged Indian fans and media to start calling the rechristened series as the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, brushing off an argument for the alphabetical preference.
'He is numero uno as far as runs and centuries are concerned in Test cricket, but also at the one-day level, too, he has more runs than anybody else. Anderson is third in the list of wicket takers in Test cricket, and his record is nowhere as good as Tendulkar's in one-day cricket,' Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar highlighted that Anderson was not part of a World Cup-winning side. The veteran pacer was a member of England's T20 World Cup win in 2010, but did not get a game.
'Jimmy Anderson was a terrific bowler, but mainly in English conditions, and his record away is nowhere near as good as Tendulkar's is,' he shared.
Gavaskar had also lamented the ECB's decision to retain the Pataudi sentiment by rewarding the winning captain of the five-match series the Pataudi medal in honour of the royal Pataudi family. The former India captain questioned what would happen to the medal if the series ended in a draw.
'The announcement of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy also said that respect would be given to the Pataudis by having a medallion for the captain of the team winning the series. Why the captain and what if the series is drawn? That's why it would have been better to have had a Pataudi medal for the Man Of The Match for every Test, culminating in the Pataudi Trophy for the Player Of The Series. This way, the Pataudis will be remembered after every Test match played as well as after the series is finished in England.It would be interesting to hear what Indian cricket lovers feel on this subject,' said Gavaskar.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

India Today

34 minutes ago

• India Today

Watch: Sunil Gavaskar urges twin centurion Rishabh Pant for somersault celebration

Rishabh Pant lit up Headingley not once, but twice. The India vice-captain scored his second century of the match on Day 4 of the Headingley Test against England on June 23 — and while the cricketing world stood up to applaud the historic feat, one man had just one demand:'Do the flip again!'That man was Sunil India legend, watching from the commentary box, was all smiles as Pant raised his bat after bringing up a stunning 130-ball hundred in the second innings. The crowd roared, teammates applauded, and Gavaskar — like a true fan — was seen gesturing animatedly from the stands, asking Pant to bring out his now-iconic front flip celebration, which he had performed after his first-innings ENG vs IND, 1st Test Day 4: UpdatesWatch the video:- !Take a bow, @RishabhPant17, brilliant would be an understatement! #ENGvIND 1st Test Day 4 LIVE NOW Streaming on JioHotstar Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 23, 2025But Pant, always the entertainer, had other of flipping, he cheekily responded with the popular "finger-eye" celebration, made famous by former England footballer Dele Alli — a clear sign that the flip was being saved for became just the second wicketkeeper in Test cricket history — after Andy Flower — to score centuries in both innings of a Test. His first-innings 134 was followed up by a masterful 118, before he was eventually dismissed by Shoaib Bashir. The knock also gave him his seventh Test hundred, the most by an Indian a few deliveries earlier, India opener KL Rahul had brought up a stylish, composed century of his own — and his 195-run stand with Pant firmly strengthened India's lead over England as the match headed into its decisive final phase.- Ends

India.com

36 minutes ago

• India.com

Shubham Gill to Virat Kohli: Indian batters who scored big in their Test Captaincy debut, one is very surprising

Virat Kohli holds the Indian record for scoring the most runs on Test captaincy debut. He made his debut as captain in the Adelaide Test against Australia in 2014 and scored a total of 256 runs. He added 115 runs in the first innings and 141 in the second. Vijay Hazare is second on the list. He made his captaincy debut against England in Delhi in 1951 and scored an unbeaten 164. He is the first Indian captain to play the biggest innings on captaincy debut. Image credit: X (Formerly Twitter) 25-year-old Shubman Gill is at third place. He made his captaincy debut against England in the Leeds Test and scored a total of 155 runs. He scored 147 runs in the first innings and 8 runs in the second. Gill has broken Sunil Gavaskar's record. Gavaskar scored 151 runs while captaining against New Zealand in Auckland in 1976. He scored 116 runs in the first innings and 35 not out in the second. Dilip Vengsarkar is in fifth place. He captained the Indian team for the first time against West Indies in Delhi in 1987 and scored a total of 112 runs. He scored 10 runs in the first innings and 102 in the second innings. Shubman Gill batted brilliantly on his Test captaincy debut and made his place at the third position and left behind a legend like Sunil Gavaskar. His performance became memorable in Indian cricket history.

First Post

43 minutes ago

• First Post

Sunil Gavaskar asks for a somersault celebration, Rishabh Pant's reply is gold

Rishabh Pant scored twin centuries in the Headingley Test vs England, becoming only the second wicketkeeper in Test history to achieve the feat. A fun moment with Sunil Gavaskar added to the buzz after he reached the landmark ton on Day 4. read more Rishabh Pant's brilliant form in the first Test against England at Headingley continued as he smashed his second century of the match. After scoring the historic ton, Pant received a cheeky request from India legend Sunil Gavaskar, who asked him to do a somersault celebration like he did in the first innings. Rishabh Pant had impressed fans earlier with a surprise somersault after reaching his century in the first innings. So, when he completed another century in the second innings on Day 4, all eyes turned to see if he would repeat it. Cameras caught Gavaskar smiling from the balcony, using hand gestures to ask Pant for a repeat. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pant gets a hilarious request from Gavaskar after second ton However, Pant, after running a single to reach the landmark, looked up and replied with a laugh and a simple 'baad mein' (I'll do it later). The fun exchange quickly went viral on social media platforms. Dinesh Karthik said Rishabh Pant is the greatest wicket-keeper Batter. He is indirectly cooking Dhobi 😭😭 — Vivek (@hailKohli18) June 23, 2025 Pant's twin centuries in the match made him only the second wicketkeeper in Test history after Zimbabwe's Andy Flower to score two hundreds in a single Test. He is also the first Indian batter to score two centuries in a Test match in England. This was Pant's eighth Test hundred. Pant was dismissed by Shoaib Bashir right before tea break. India were in a strong position by then, with Pant departing for 118 off 140 balls and KL Rahul also notching up a ton and still intact in the middle. At tea on Day 4, India were 298/4 in 75 overs, with a strong lead of 304 runs.