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Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar on Monday criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for not inviting cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson to the presentation ceremony of the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
In his column for an Indian newspaper, Gavaskar questioned whether Tendulkar and Anderson were simply overlooked or deliberately not invited.
Gavaskar expressed disappointment over the absence of the two icons after whom the trophy is named, from the post-match ceremony at The Oval.
“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 captains, especially since the series ended in a draw,” he wrote.
Gavaskar drew parallels with his own exclusion from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy presentation in Australia earlier this year, where only Allan Border was present because the hosts had won.
“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?” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar also took issue with the presentation of the Pataudi medal, traditionally awarded to the winning captain which was given to both Gill and Stokes despite the drawn series.
“Nobody from the Pataudi family was there either for the Pataudi Medal presentation. The drawn series showed how foolish it was to retire the trophy named after them,” he added.
He argued that such honours should instead go to the Player of the Series.
“Every time the series is drawn, the medal can’t be presented, can it? Wouldn’t it be better to award it to the Man of the Series rather than the winning captain? And what if the captain had an ordinary series and little impact on the result?” Gavaskar concluded.
