"Were they not invited?" Gavaskar slams England for not inviting Tendulkar, Anderson at ceremony
Legendary Indian batter Sir Sunil Gavaskar expressed astonishment that both Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson weren’t invited to present the trophy to the two captains following the conclusion of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Gavaskar stressed his point by revealing both Tendulkar and Anderson were in England during that time but still weren’t called upon. He also recalled a similar incident earlier this year in Australia, when only Allan Border was invited to present the Border-Gavskar Trophy and not him.
While demanding a fair explanation, he raised another point – if Allan Border was invited because Australia had won the series, then why Tendulkar and Anderson weren’t called upon when the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended in a 2-2 draw.
"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 hand the trophy to the two captains, especially since the series ended in a draw. 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," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“Nobody from the Pataudi family was there for the Pataudi Medal”- Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar further questioned why not a single member from the Pataudi family was invited to present the Pataudi Medal, which is given to the winning captain. Gavaskar suggested if the series was drawn, the medal could have been presented to the Player of the Series rather than the winning captain.
"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 foolish this idea was of trying to make amends 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 award the medal to the Man of the Series rather than the winning team's captain? And what if the captain himself had an ordinary series and little impact on the result? If there had been a result and the Pataudi Medal had to be given to the Man of the Series, it would have been a tough choice, for both skippers were simply outstanding," he added.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy resulted in a 2-2 draw. England hunted down a mammoth 371-run target in the first Test to take 1-0 lead in the series. A phenomenal performance from Team India in Birmingham helped them level the series 1-1. England won the Lord’s Test and continued to take the upper hand in the series, leading by 2-1. The fourth Test resulted in a draw but India clinched a win in the fifth Test match, leading to series resulting in a 2-2 draw.
