Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has strongly criticised the decision to name the ongoing Test series between India and England the 'Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy', stressing that his compatriot Sachin Tendulkar’s name should have come first in the title.

 

In his column for Mid-day, Gavaskar accepted that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has the right to rename the series, but he questioned the order of the names.

 

“The ECB is fully entitled to call the series by any name they choose,” Gavaskar wrote. “But for most, if not all, Indian cricket lovers, it is jarring to know that Anderson's name comes first.”

 

Gavaskar argued that Tendulkar deserves more respect and should be named first because of his legendary status, seniority, and unmatched cricketing achievements.

 

“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 noted.

 

“He is number one 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.”

 

He further mentioned Tendulkar's contribution to India’s 2011 World Cup win and pointed out that Anderson has never been part of a World Cup winning side.

 

“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. I also urge all Indian cricket lovers including the India media to call it the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy.”

 

Previously, the Test series held in England between the two nations was played for the Pataudi Trophy. It was named after Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, who played Test cricket for both India and England. His son, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, also captained India and left a lasting legacy in Indian cricket.

 

The Pataudi Trophy was introduced in 2007 to mark the 75th anniversary of the first Test match between India and England. Meanwhile, the series played in India has traditionally been called the Anthony De Mello Trophy.

 

Gavaskar had earlier criticised the decision to remove the Pataudi name, calling it “a total lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India” in a column for Sportstar.