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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Sunil Gavaskar questions Sachin Tendulkar, James Anderson absence during Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy presentation
Among the talking points going into what ended up being an epic five-Test series between India and England was the name of the trophy itself. The Pataudi Trophy had been retired, leading to criticism from multiple quarters, and was replaced by the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, named after England fast bowling great James Anderson and India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. Strangely, though, both were nowhere to be seen during the presentation ceremony. Sunil Gavaskar questioned this in his column for Sportstar. 'This was the first-ever series named after Sachin Tendulkar and Jimmy Anderson, two of cricket's greatest legends. One would have expected both to be present to give the trophy to the two captains, especially since the series ended in a draw,' he said. Anderson continues to play domestic cricket and was in action in England at the time that the series was taking place. Tendulkar, meanwhile, was there for the unveiling of the trophy and Gavaskar has said that the former India captain was in England to the best of his knowledge. Gavaskar drew parallels to what happened earlier in the year in Australia, where he was not included in the presentation ceremony and it was just Allan Border at the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The reasoning given at the time was that this was because it was Australia that had won the series. 'To the best of one's knowledge, both were in England at the time. So, were they simply not invited? Or was this similar to what happened in Australia earlier this year, when only Allan Border was asked to present the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because Australia had won the series? Since this England series was drawn, perhaps neither was asked to attend the presentation,' he said. Gavaskar also slammed the practice of giving the newly instated Pataudi medal to the winning captain of the series instead of the player of the series. India captain Shubman Gill and England skipper Ben Stokes were both given a medal each with the series drawn 2-2. 'Mostly around the world, administrators are brought in to ensure profits and are quite good at it, but they may not have much knowledge about the history of the sport they are presiding over. So, these little gestures are not in their scheme of things. Nobody from the Pataudi family was there either, for the Pataudi medal, which was to be presented to the winning team's captain. 'The drawn series showed how silly this idea was of trying to make up to the Pataudis by retiring the trophy named after them. Every time the series is drawn, the medal can't be presented, can it? Wouldn't it be better, therefore, to have the medal for the Man of the Series than give it to the winning team's captain? And what if the captain himself has had an ordinary series and had little impact on the result?' said Gavaskar.
Express Tribune
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Haris rises 210 spots in T20 ranks
Mohammad Haris was in action against Bangladesh in the recently concluded T20I series in Lahore. Photo: AFP England and Pakistan players made gains in the latest ICC Men's Player Rankings after series whitewashes against West Indies and Bangladesh, respectively. Pakistan made headlines with a 3-0 whitewash of Bangladesh at home. Leading the charge was Player of the Series Mohammad Haris, who soared a massive 210 places to No.30 in the ICC Men's T20I Batter Rankings after a blistering century in the final match. He smashed a fiery unbeaten 107 off just 46 balls in the third T20I, backing up his earlier knocks of 41 and 31 to finish as the series' top run-scorer with 167 runs at a strike rate of 201.12. Fellow middle-order batter Hasan Nawaz also impressed, finishing second on the charts with 121 runs at a strike rate of 198.36. He surged 57 places to a career-best equal 45th in the batting charts. Bangladesh's Tanzid Hasan (up 28 places to No.53) and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha (up 42 spots to equal 75th) were the other notable movers among batters after the series. In a high-scoring third T20I, Abbas Afridi returned with brilliant figures of 2/26, helping him jump 18 spots to a three-way-tied 19th spot in the ICC Men's T20I Bowlers Rankings with Anrich Nortje and Haris Rauf. Meanwhile, Shadab Khan's all-round contributions – 55 runs in two innings and four wickets across the series – helped him climb 10 places to No.14 in the ICC Men's T20I All-rounder Rankings. Pakistan teammates, ex-pros and coaches discuss the brilliance of Shadab Khan. England shine in ODIs Playing at home, England completed a 3-0 whitewash over West Indies to set the new Harry Brook era rolling. In the new era, it was the seasoned Joe Root who led the charge, earning Player of the Series honours with 267 runs, including a century and a fifty, taking the former captain up 14 spots to equal 24th place in the ICC Men's ODI Batters Rankings. The highlight was a career-best 166* off 139 balls in the second ODI, where Root rescued England from 133/5 in the 24th over while chasing 309, guiding them to a memorable win. Ben Duckett continued his strong run in ODIs, backing up his Champions Trophy 2025 form with two more half-centuries against West Indies, as a result jumping up three spots to 17th in the latest rankings update. New skipper Harry Brook also made valuable contributions in the 3-0 sweep, registering scores of 58, 47, and an unbeaten 26 at a strike rate of 111.96. He jumps 15 spots to No.48. Even in defeat, Keacy Carty continued to shine for West Indies, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer of the series with 154 runs in three games. Building on two centuries against Ireland earlier in the European tour, Carty struck his fourth ODI ton in the second match against England, further cementing his place in the side. The 28-year-old Carty climbs four places to No.12 in the Batting Rankings with a rating of 659, just one behind fellow West Indian Shai Hope (660) and 17 off Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran (676), who sits in 10th. In the ICC Men's ODI Bowling Rankings, Adil Rashid, the leading wicket-taker of the series with nine scalps, moves up four spots to No.19. Saqib Mahmood makes the biggest leap, surging 82 places to No.48 after finishing with eight wickets. West Indies pace spearhead Alzarri Joseph picked up seven wickets in the series to climb nine spots to 18th in the ICC Men's ODI Bowling Rankings. His handy 41-run knock in the final ODI also lifted him six places to joint-21st in the All-rounders Rankings.
