The England-India Test series was renamed as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ahead of the ongoing series. The Three Lions currently lead the series 2-1 heading into the fourth Test in Manchester. Previously, whenever a Test series between the two teams was contested in England, it was for the Pataudi Trophy. However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to rename it as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Anderson gives his take on sharing trophy name with Tendulkar
James Anderson, who shares his name on the trophy alongside the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, remarked how he feels honoured to have his name on the trophy. However, he also expressed that that he feels 'out of place' because of it.
"I feel completely out of place when I see myself alongside him with the trophy. As I said, I hold him in such high regard,” Anderson said, speaking on Sky Cricket.
“It is strange that when people talk about what I have achieved in cricket, like when I hear about it, as if someone's talking about someone else, if that makes sense. Like I don't feel it is me who has achieved all this. It sounds really strange, but that is how my head works. I just can't quite believe the things that come with playing such a long time," he added.
Despite being among the best bowlers to ever grace the game with a total of 991 wickets in his illustrious career, Anderson still found it difficult to share his name with someone like Tendulkar. The former England pacer announced his retirement in July, 2024 with his last match being a Test against West Indies at Lord's. He recently was seen featuring for Lancashire in the County Championship.
Meanwhile, England have a valuable 2-1 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series against India. The Three Lions recently recorded a hard-fought 22-run victory over the Men in Blue at Lord's in the third Test. The fourth Test of the series is set to commence from July 23 at Old Trafford. It will be highly important for Shubman Gill's men to win the upcoming match in Manchester as any other result will end all their chances of triumphing the series. On the other hand, a victory in the fourth Test will hand England the series so it will certainly be interesting to see in which the direction the match heads.