• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lambasted the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), questioning why cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson were absent from the presentation ceremony after the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended in a draw.

Gavaskar drew a parallel with his own experience of being excluded from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy presentation ceremony after Australia won the series, where Australia's Allan Border was asked to present the trophy while Cricket Australia overlooked him despite his presence at the venue for broadcasting responsibilities. 

Given their presence in England, Gavaskar believed it would have been a gracious nod to their cricketing legacy.

"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?" Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

ALSO READ: Sunil Gavaskar Backs Shubman Gill's Decision To Play In Duleep Trophy: 'Sends Right Message To India Teammates'

"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," the legendary batter said.

Gavaskar also emphasised that no one from the Pataudi family was present at the venue to hand over the Pataudi medal.

"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," he added.

The Pataudi Medal was shared between England captain Ben Stokes and India skipper Shubman Gill after the series concluded in a draw 2-2. 

ALSO READ: From Prodigy To Downfall: Rohit Sharma's Childhood Coach Sheds Light On Prithvi Shaw's Troubled Career

"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?" Gavaskar stated.