'A total lack of sensitivity' - Sunil Gavaskar slams ECB's decision to retire Pataudi Trophy
The red-ball series between England and India played in the UK was previously known as the Pataudi Trophy.
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Former Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, recently expressed his opinion on the discontinuation of the Pataudi Trophy from the upcoming series onwards. The bilateral red-ball series between England and India in England will not be called the same now. This comes after several reports suggested that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was planning on dropping the title from the next series between the two sides, scheduled to commence from June 20 later this year.
Gavaskar described the supposed decision as one that was "disturbing". He also expressed that the call severely undermines the contribution made by Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi to English and Indian cricket.
"The recent news that the ECB is going to retire the Pataudi Trophy, given to the winners of the Test series between England and India in England, is disturbing indeed. This is the first time one has heard of a trophy named after individual players being retired, though the decision is entirely the ECB's, and the BCCI may well have been informed. It shows a total lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India," stated Gavaskar, as quoted in his column for Sportstar.
Hope that any other Indian cricketer will have the smarts to decline: Gavaskar
The former Indian cricketer, who played five games alongside Tiger for the nation, also discussed two main reasons why he hoped for other Indian players to decline the offer of having the series named after them from the ECB, if at all approached by the administrative body.
"There may well be a new trophy named after more recent players, and here's hoping that if an Indian player has been approached, he will have the good sense to politely decline — not only out of respect for two former Indian captains but also to avoid the same fate of having a trophy named after him retired after he is gone. The ECB is fully entitled to name the trophy after one of their own players, but I, along with loads of Indian cricket supporters, fervently hope that any other Indian cricketer will have the smarts to decline, lest history repeats itself as it has with the Pataudi Trophy," added Gavaskar.
Out of the five Pataudi Trophy series which have been played so far, India have won only once. The series in 2011, 2014, and 2018 saw England dominating. The most-recent one in 2022 was drawn with both sides winning two games each in the five-match series.
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