Gavaskar exposes ECB snub of Sachin Tendulkar, James Anderson at trophy ceremony: 'Both were in England. Then why…?'

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar took a dig at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy presentation at The Oval at the end of the gruelling five-Test series. In a shocking revelation, Gavaskar said that both the retired cricketers were present in England, but were not present for the ceremony. India's Sachin Tendulkar and England's James Anderson were absent from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy presentation at The Oval(ECB)

The series ended in a 2-2 draw after the Shubman Gill-led young Indian side pulled off a magnificent six-run heist in London. However, neither Sachin nor Anderson was present to hand over the trophy to England captain Ben Stokes and Gill. ECB, too, remained mum on the issue.

Taking to his column in Sportstar, Gavaskar questioned the logic behind their absence from the ceremony despite their being in the country. The India batting legend speculated as he drew a similarity to the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, where Australia's Allan Border was asked to present the trophy while Cricket Australia ignored him despite his presence at the venue for broadcasting duties. Gavaskar reckoned that Sachin and Anderson were probably not contacted because the series had ended in a 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 give 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," he wrote.

Gavaskar also highlighted that none from the Pataudi family was present to hand over the Pataudi medal. He further said the concept itself was flawed, as a drawn series meant the medal couldn’t be presented, and suggested it should instead go to the Man of the Series rather than the winning team’s 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 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?

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."

For the unversed, the ECB retired the Pataudi Trophy, renaming it after Sachin and Anderson. India had won it only once — in 2007 — when Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi himself handed it to then-captain Rahul Dravid.

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