The upcoming five-match Test series between India and England is set to commence from June 20 and will be played for the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy. The first match of the much-awaited series is set to be played at Headingley in Leeds and will also mark the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Pataudi Trophy was first contested in 2007
From 2007, Pataudi Trophy used to be the name of the bilateral series played between England and India in England. The name was first used to commemorate 75 years of the first Test match between India and England. Notably, a bilateral series between the two teams is called the Anthony de Mello Trophy whenever it is contested in India. It is named after a former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
According to a report by the Indian Express, the BCCI wasn't quite happy with the decision of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to retire the name of Pataudi Trophy. The report further stated that the BCCI has requested the ECB to name one of the post match trophies on Pataudi.
"It's the ECB who decides on whom they want to name their series. The BCCI has no role in it as it's their home series. We have requested them to name one of the post match Trophy on Pataudi and they will revert to us," a BCCI official told the Indian Express.
Earlier, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had slammed the ECB for retiring the Pataudi Trophy. He had stated that this was the first time that he had ever heard a trophy that was named after an individual getting retired.
"The recent news that the ECB is going to retire the Pataudi Trophy, given to the winners of the Test series between England and India in England, is disturbing indeed. This is the first time one has heard of a trophy named after individual players being retired, though the decision is entirely the ECB's, and the BCCI may well have been informed. It shows a total lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India," Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sportstar.
"There may well be a new trophy named after more recent players, and here's hoping that if an Indian player has been approached, he will have the good sense to politely decline - not only out of respect for two former India captains but also to avoid the same fate of having a trophy named after him retired after he is gone. The ECB is fully entitled to name the trophy after one of their own players, but I, along with loads of Indian cricket supporters, fervently hope that any other Indian cricketer will have the smarts to decline, lest history repeats itself as it has with the Pataudi Trophy," he added.
Following the first Test at Headingley, the second match of the upcoming England-India series will take place in Birmingham from July 2. After this, the action will move to the iconic Lord's stadium in London for the third match from July 10 and then, the fourth Test will be played in Manchested from July 23. Finally, the fifth match of the series will be played at the Oval.