The five-match Test series between England and India will now be played for the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, named after two of the greatest to play red-ball cricket. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had retired the name 'Pataudi' from the trophy in April, which is played for when India travel to the UK for the Test assignment and now as per a BBC Sport report, the new trophy will be unveiled in the build-up to the five-match series, which kicks off at Headingley in Leeds on June 20.
Sachin Tendulkar, one of the legends of the game, still remains the leading run-getter in Test cricket, scoring 15,921 runs for India in 200 Test matches, after making his debut in 1989 until 2013. James Anderson, on the other hand, is England's greatest fast bowler and overall the best seam bowler in the world, taking 704 wickets after playing 188 Tests. Anderson has had the better of Sachin Tendulkar on several occasions, but the two have had great battles over the years.
Overall, Tendulkar has scored 208 runs against Anderson in Test cricket, averaging 23.11, while getting out nine times.
Earlier, it was named the Pataudi Trophy after the Nawab of Pataudi Senior, who played for both England and India in the 1930s and 40s. Pataudi's son, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, played for India in the 1960s and 70s and went on to lead the side in 40 Test matches. The Pataudi family was informed of the decision to retire the name from the trophy.
On the other hand, when England tour India, it is played for the Anthony D'Mello Trophy, named after India's great cricket administrator. It is not clear whether the Tendulkar-Anderson moniker will be used for Test series in India as well.
The move comes after the New Zealand-England series unveiled the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy in November last year and a few more bilaterals like Australia-Sri Lanka (Warner-Murali Trophy), West Indies-Australia (Frank Worrell Trophy) and obviously the Ashes between England and Australia are also dubbed after historic events and players involving the two nations.