'The drawn series showed how silly this idea was': Sunil Gavaskar reignites Pataudi Trophy row after India vs England five-Test match series ended 2-2 draw

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reignited the row over changing the Pataudi Trophy and renaming the India-England Test series to 'Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy'. The England Cricket Board (ECB) decided to present the Pataudi Medal to the winning skipper instead after major criticism from both fans as well as experts. Days after the five-Test match series, Gavaskar pointed out that no one from the Pataudi family was present for the presentation ceremony.

As the five-Test match series between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw, Gavaskar pointed out that the decision to present the medal to the winning captain seemed a bit 'silly'.

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"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 silly this idea was of trying to make up to the Pataudis by retiring the trophy named after them," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

"Every time the series is drawn, the medal can't be presented, can it? Wouldn't it be better, therefore, to have the medal for the Man of the Series than give it to the winning team's captain? And what if the captain himself has had an ordinary series and had little impact on the result?" he added.

Gavaskar also questioned why the cricketing duo Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson were not invited for the presentation ceremony despite the fact that both of them were there in England during that time.

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"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 give 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," he concluded.

India's Shubman Gill and England's Harry Brook were awarded Player of the Series for their performance in the five-Test series, where India won the second and fifth Test matches and England came victorious in the first and third Test matches. The fourth Test match of the series ended as a draw.