A new trophy bearing the names of cricketing legends James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar will be used to determine the winner of the long-awaited Test series between England and India, according to reports. The first of five Tests will take place on June 20 at Headingley. According to a BBC report, the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy will be introduced before the much-anticipated series, which starts at Headingley on June 20. The award was formerly known as the Pataudi trophy, named for two of India's finest captains, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.
There has been much discussion over the England and Wales Cricket Board's proposal to rename the Pataudi Trophy in honor of James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar. The renaming of the trophy has been welcomed by many previous players, but many others have voiced their displeasure. In his piece, Sunil Gavaskar writes, “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”.
This change is being branded as more than change for change's sake; it relates to developing cricket history, the democratisation of memory, and the current political conditions surrounding sporting remembrance. This change raises pertinent questions: Who is qualified to decide the legacy of sports? What does it mean to rename a prize that has strong post-colonial pride and colonial grammar? By doing so, are we altering the history of cricket or only modifying it?
Heritage of the Pataudi trophy
It was noted as thoughtful, thoughtful, and admirable that the trophy was named after the Pataudi father-son pair, Iftikhar Ali Khan, who played for both India and England, and "Tiger" Mansur, who is India's youngest Test captain (ever). The naming was more than merely tokenistic. The father represented the shared cricketing past of India and the former masters; he had been omitted from the side for rejecting the captain Douglas Jardine's orders to field leg-side (after the 2nd Test of the infamous Bodyline series of 1932–1933 in Australia). During his almost 14 years playing Test cricket, Iftikhar Ali Khan represented England three times in Test Matches and India three times (as captain in all three matches), scoring a century on his debut in Sydney in December 1932. One of the great batters and fielders in India during his time—old timers insist "any"—was his son, whose schooling was undertaken in England. But that in itself was only a minuscule aspect of his legacy. When the captain, Nari Contractor, was just 21 years old, Tiger took over the Caribbean in 1962, when he was mercilessly attacked on the head by Charlie Griffith during a Barbadian tour match, he brought the team instant pride of "Indianness," where geography and language provided nothing in common with this group of players. Tiger should be called a prince with the heart of a commoner, as he brings to the table a royal aspect, but also an instinctive feeling of unity and compassion. The Pataudi Trophy, a mere trifle for them as appreciation for their contribution to cricket, was developed because both father and son had done yeomen's service to the world of cricket generally, and not just Indian cricket.
Cricket and names
Cricket relies greatly on memory, metaphor, and nostalgia, unlike many other sports. Trophies act not just as material trophies, but as conduits of collective memory. The Ashes, the Frank Worrell Trophy, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy all act as historical mnemonics and narrative devices, which can evoke rivalries, eras, and ethos.
Renaming the trophy after James Anderson, who is continuing to play and hone the craft of fast-bowling aged forty-plus, and Sachin Tendulkar, who retired in 2013 as the most accomplished batsman in the history of Test cricket, is an act of both respect and curation. It is the shift from dynasty to democracy, from the symbolism of hierarchy to statistics that tell their own story, from royalty to meritocracy.
Pataudi trophy results
With its inception in 2007, the first Pataudi trophy was won by India, winning the three-match series 1-0. The next three Pataudi trophies were won by England (2011, 2014, 2018), and in 2021-22, the final series was concluded by a 2-2 draw.
Marketing or Traditions?
One of the reasons given for this change is that naming the series after modern-day greats will help to make the rivalry more relatable to young fans. In twenty years, will we be transitioning from Anderson-Tendulkar to players of a more recent era? Is this how we celebrate the greats who have opened space in a game that they helped to shape and not disappeared into by allowing young fans - the current nostalgia hunters - to dismiss the past and the giants that have built the game into what they are familiar with? Nonetheless, it is irritating that this is coming from England - the nation who has introduced T20 cricket to the world and invented the 100-ball-a-side concept, or The Hundred, which has the potential to hold on to deep roots - given their espoused respect and belief in history and tradition, however irrefutably consistent and reflective of the current era the move is.
It seems to make sense that the name change has been met with criticism from many quarters. The late Tiger's wife, the graceful Sharmila Tagore, labelled it "insensitive." Recent reports confirm that the winning captain of the next five-Test series will receive a medal named after the royal family, who have a significant relationship with cricket in both India and England, so the Pataudi name will continue to be used within the cricket rivalry of the two nations. The reports also state that Tendulkar reached out to the ECB personally to request adherence to the Pataudi name in India-England cricket. Jay Shah, president of the ICC, was also involved. "Sachin called the ECB at the time and said he thought the Pataudi name should remain with India-England cricket. Mr. Jay Shah was also involved in the discussions. A BCCI official said the ECB agreed with the request and determined to call the medal the Pataudi Medal for the winning captain.