What’s in a name, the cliché goes. A lot – as the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have realised the hard way over the rebranding of the Pataudi Trophy – which is given to the winners of the India versus England Test series played at the Old Blighty.
Barely three days before the five-Test series gets underway at the Leeds in Headingley from Friday (20 June), both the boards have reportedly got into a damage-control mode after the decision to rename the winners’ trophy as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy caused a major outrage among the cricketing community in India.
The buzz is that Sachin Tendulkar, the Little Master, himself has quietly got into the fray alongwith Jay Shah, the BCCI strongman and now the chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC), to convince the ECB to retain the legacy of the Pataudis in some form in the series.
An unconfirmed media report says that plans are afoot to award the winning captain a Pataudi Medal of Excellence – to keep alive the legacy of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the only cricketer to have played for both England and India and his illustrious son Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, simply Tiger to his admirers.
Meanwhile, the formal inauguration of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after the two modern greats, which had been put off due to this controversy - is now expected to be held on 19 June (Thursday).
‘There are certain plans but I cannot comment on it. A clear picture will emerge over the next few days.’
The purists are dismayed at the trophy being renamed. If the Pataudi Trophy, introduced less than 18 years ago in 2007, is deemed outdated, then what about the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the India-Australia Test series (instituted in 1996)? Or the French Open management might think of renaming the La Coupe des Mousquetaires (The Musketeers' Trophy) to Nadal Trophy? Rafael Nadal did win the cup 14 times after all.
The decision disappointed large sections of Indian fans, several legends of the game and of course the Pataudi family besides cricket writers and historians. Their mild and muted disapproval had less to do with the cricketers after whom the trophy was being renamed – but more with the Indian cricket board’s silence bordering on complicity.
Abbas Ali Baig, now 86 and one of the contemporaries of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi – both in India cap as well as Hyderabad’s golden generation, did not mince words.
Speaking to this correspondent over phone from Singapore, one of the most flamboyant characters of Indian cricket said: It’s quite insulting and demeaning to change the name of the trophy... I am not aware of any such precedent.
Well, if you want to honour Tendulkar & Anderson for their achievements, why don’t you institute another trophy? I find it rather cheap.
Jayanthi Jaisimha, wife of late ML Jaisimha – another larger-than-life cricketer of the Pataudi era – said in a chat : ‘’I find this really unfair but then, I am biased. Tiger and my husband were great friends but to be honest, one could have done it in different ways. What about awarding a Tendulkar trophy to the top scorer of the series and an Anderson Trophy to the highest wicket taker?’’
When contacted, Farokh Engineer, the legendary wicketkeeper who was among Tiger’s lieutanents preferred not to comment on what he felt was a ‘sensitive’ issue.
Members of Tiger’s family, meanwhile, are deeply hurt though the word is they are not averse to the Pataudi name being retained in any form with the series. Speaking to a major English daily, Sharmila Tiger, Tiger’s wife said recently: “Whether the BCCI wants to preserve Tiger’s legacy or not is for them to decide.’’
Saad Bin Jung, a former cricketer of Hyderabad in the Seventies and a grandson of Iftikar Ali Khan Pataudi, did not pull back any punches on Tendulkar’s silence on the issue. Saad wrote on his Facebook wall: ‘’I wonder why one cricketer is allowing a trophy named after a former Indian Test captain to be named after him? Shows a complete lack of respect for the cricketing fraternity and his senior in Test cricket. Just shows how desperate people get for fame. Any kind of fame even at the cost of those who captained India before them. You have fallen badly in my eyes and in the eyes of the entire cricket fraternity.’’
For someone like Ayaz Memon, cricket columnist and commentator, it’s the bigger picture of trying to rebrand such big prizes from time to time which is questionable. ‘’Is it a new trend to disregard history? Is it the BCCI’s brainchild for as far as I know Sachin, he would never have asked for it”, he quipped.
