Sachin Tendulkar on renaming of India-England Test series: My first phone call was to the Pataudi family to inform them
When the Test series between India and England was renamed the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, the Indian great Sachin Tendulkar made the first call to the Pataudi family.
The series was originally called the Pataudi Trophy in honour of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who led India, and his father Iftikhar Ali who played for England and also captained India. Tendulkar wanted to retain the Pataudi connection with the series, and convinced the two cricket boards in India and England to award a trophy to the winning captain in Pataudi's name – it would be called Pataudi Medal of Excellence.
'My first phone call was to the Pataudi family to inform them. And we spoke about how to keep the Pataudi legacy alive [with the India-England series]. I said that I will try my best,' Tendulkar told The Indian Express.
Tendulkar just didn't want to assuage the family, but wanted to do his bit to retain the Pataudi connection. He then called up the International Cricket Council (ICC) president Jay Shah, and also spoke to people in England and India's cricket board.
'I spoke to Mr. Jay Shah, the BCCI and the ECB and shared my ideas with them, and shared a few options. With a few phone calls with them, I felt they bought into the idea and graciously agreed [to retain Pataudi connection]. It was to support the whole thought process which ended up in having this Pataudi Medal of Excellence for the series-winning captain,' Tendulkar said.
Tendulkar explained the rationale for choosing Pataudi's name for the captaincy. 'I feel that the great man [Mansoor Ali Khan] was known for his leadership and is a good match. That the winning captain would be getting the Pataudi medal would be apt. So now, along with the new trophy, which would be named after both Anderson and I, we also have this Pataudi Medal of Excellence – and that feels really nice. So, the end outcome is good.'
Tendulkar said he felt honoured to be associated with the series. 'It does feel really nice that the contribution of ours to our respective nations in Test cricket is recognised in this way, feels special. I had heard about the BCCI and ECB retiring the Pataudi Trophy some time ago. It was the decision taken by both the boards to name this trophy after Anderson and I, which is a completely new trophy.'
The original Pataudi Trophy was commissioned in 2007 by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to mark the 75th anniversary of India's first Test in England in 1932. India won the first series in 2007, and England have won the next three series that followed, with the last series ending in a 2-2 draw.
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