Our Bureau
New Delhi
Recently the test series between India and England was rebranded from Pataudi Trophy to Anderson Tendulkar Trophy. The decision had quite polarising opinions as some legends couldn’t understand the need of the change. Indian Cricket legend and one of the greatest captains of India, Kapil Dev was surprised by this decision and said it felt a bit ‘strange’.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to honour two of the greatest players to ever play the game – James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar. They rebranded the Pataudi Trophy which was named after former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy.
Kapil Dev who was asked about his opinion on the manner stated that he felt the decision was a strange one. However, he stated that this doesn’t change things much and as long as the cricket on field remains the same then everything works.
“It feels a little strange… like, does this also happen? But that’s okay, everything works in cricket. At the end of the day, there is no difference. Cricket is cricket. The cricket on the field should be the same,” Kapil Dev said.
The World Cup winning captain was at an event organised by Three Sixty celebrating the 42nd anniversary of his iconic innings against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup. Kapil scored an unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. He had brought the bat he played the special innings with at the event.
Talking about the special innings, Kapil said, “It’s a special day for me but I don’t remember much about it. Those who are watching the game tend to remember it more about it than those playing it, because we are so focussed on playing the match.”
While the name of the series has been changed, the cricket boards have decided to honor Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s legacy. The captain of the team which will win the series will be awarded with a special medal named after Mr. Pataudi.
