'Anderson's record nowhere as good as Tendulkar': Sunil Gavaskar blasts at ECB's 'lame' decision

Sunil Gavaskar blasts at ECB's 'lame' decision

The Pataudi Trophy's rebranding as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is still a contentious issue. Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the England Cricket Board (ECB) for prioritizing James Anderson's name over Sachin Tendulkar's, following significant criticism of the board's decision to retire the legendary Pataudi name. On the eve of the five-Test series between India and England, the two greats themselves introduced the trophy. Although Anderson's "A" comes before Tendulkar's "T" in the alphabetical order, the Little Master contends that Tendulkar's cricketing legacy is far superior to Anderson's.

"The ECB 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. 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 in one-day cricket," Gavaskar wrote in his column for the Mid-Day.

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"Tendulkar is also part of a World cup-winning team which Anderson has not been. Jimmy Anderson was a terrific bowler but mainly in English conditions and his record away is nowhere near as good as Tendulkar's is. So, by all accounts Tendulkar's name should come first. This argument that they are going by the letters of the alphabet where the letter A comes before T is such a lame one for there's simply no comparison with what Tendulkar has done and achieved and what Anderson has for their respective countries. Please don’t misunderstand, there's massive respect for Anderson but as an Indian, for me Tendulkar will always be above him. I also urge all Indian cricket lovers including the Indian media to call it the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy."

Gavaskar also voiced concerns over the recently instituted Pataudi Medal of Excellence, which will be given to the victorious captain by the ECB. Instead of completely retiring the Pataudi name, the English board decided to introduce the medal in response to Tendulkar's and the BCCI's efforts to maintain the Pataudi legacy. Gavaskar counters that it would be more appropriate to honor the Player of the Match with the medal rather than giving it to the victorious captain.

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"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," Gavaskar, former India captain, added.