Editorial: Don't dishonour the Pataudis
The name change is meant to honour two recent heroes of cricket, Jimmy Anderson, who took 704 wickets in Test matches, and Sachin Tendulkar who played 200 Test matches for India.
Jimmy Anderson bowling to Sachin Tendulkar during a Test match (Image/X)
Ahead of the England-India series beginning on June 20, the cricket boards of the two countries have decided to change the name of the trophy awarded to the winner of the five-match rubber. The Pataudi Trophy will henceforth be called the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The name change is meant to honour two recent heroes of cricket, Jimmy Anderson, the England fast bowler who took 704 wickets in Test matches, and Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman who played 200 Test matches for India.
Few would dispute the duo’s claim to this honour, but isn’t the change of name a slight to the two former legends honoured by the Pataudi Trophy? The trophy was instituted in 2007 as a tribute to Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the only player to have played Test cricket for both England (before World War II) and India (after), and his son Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who at 21 became India’s youngest captain in 1961.
The inexplicable move has shocked former players, pundits and longtime fans of Indian cricket. India’s greatest batsman, Sunil Gavaskar, whose name, along with that of Allan Border, adorns the trophy for the Test match series between India and Australia, has written that “this is the first time one has heard of a trophy named after individual players being retired. It shows a total lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India.”
The explanation given by the cricket establishment is that Tendulkar and Anderson, being more recent legends, would have greater resonance with younger cricket fans. It’s a lame excuse that falls short on several counts. For starters, it ignores the contribution of earlier heroes in making cricket the popular sport that it is today.
It was the younger Pataudi who transformed the Indian team from being a collection of provincial players into a truly national outfit. He was the charismatic captain who forged the famed Indian spin quartet of Prasanna, Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan, who were instrumental in all the first famous victories notched up by India against the game’s powerhouses England, Australia and the West Indies. As for popularity, Mansur Ali Khan was second to none in attracting glamorous attention, being one of several dashing cricketers who inspired two generations of players and fans alike.
It's a convention in sports to name trophies and tournaments after heroes whose legends encapsulate the values that a particular sport cherishes. These values are held up to young fans as ideals to live up to, to fantasise about and to realise them in their own lives. No doubt today’s young fans are excited by the exploits of Tendulkar and Anderson, but who’s to say they would not be inspired by the hard-won attainments of earlier heroes?
Removing the names of the Pataudis from the England-India trophy reduces it to a popularity contest. It is also a negation of the cricket boards’ duty to introduce the romance of the game and its history to new generations of fans. Cricket lovers of the 1970s and 1980s thrilled to the story of the one-eyed Mansur Ali Khan facing up to Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith after captain Nari Contractor had been felled by a bouncer. Why should today’s youngsters be deprived of such stories of courage?
