Sachin Tendulkar has made it clear that he wants to keep alive the legacy of the Pataudi family.
The BCCI and ECB had recently decided to retire the Pataudi Trophy, which was how an India-England Test series in England used to be referred to since 2007, and rename it as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The decision, however, created a controversy with some of the well-known figures in world cricket expressing their displeasure.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on Thursday, the eve of the series opener at Headingley, Sachin said he had got in touch with the family of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi on coming to know of the decision.
“When the Pataudi trophy was retired, I was travelling in Spain or somewhere, and I heard about it.
“So, the first time I got to know about the new trophy, just some time ago last month, I thought it’s a nice recognition of our contributions to our respective nations in Test cricket. At the same time, I picked up the phone, and my first phone call was to the Pataudi family.
“I spoke to them and also discussed keeping the legacy alive. It’s important not to forget the contribution to Indian cricket and having inspired so many generations. And I said, I’ll come back to you on this.
“I then spoke to Mr Jay Shah, the BCCI and the ECB, and shared some ideas. And we, over a period of time, had a few phone calls and unanimously decided that the Pataudi Medal of Excellence should be awarded to the winning captain...” Sachin said.
He also had a word of advice for Shubman Gill. “You need to respect the conditions and bat accordingly. One has to be slightly flexible in adapting to the conditions and if we respect that, then a lot of things can fall into place,” Sachin, who played five Test series in England, said.