James Anderson 'still can't believe' the fact that a trophy has been named after him alongside the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. India and England will battle it out for the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy in the upcoming five-match Test series starting from June 20. The new name will replace the long-standing Pataudi Trophy ahead of the upcoming summer.
Both Anderson and Tendulkar are expected to attend the official unveiling ceremony of the trophy during the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's this week. The England fast bowler with 704 Test wickets called sharing the trophy with a player like Tendulkar as a huge honour and recalled the times when he used to watch him play while growing up. Notably, Anderson also dismissed the legendary Indian batter as many as nine times in 14 matches in Tests.
"It's a huge honour. I still can't quite believe it. Sachin is someone I looked up to when I was growing up, though I don't want to do him a disservice with his age. I remember watching him, an absolute legend of the game, and I played against him a lot as well. So to have this trophy is a huge honour for me, and I couldn't be more proud," Anderson said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
Tendulkar and Anderson played a combined 388 Test matches during their respective Test career that spanned from 1989 to 2024, with the latter retiring from the sport at Lord's last year. The duo ended their careers at peak with Sachin finishing at a record 15921 runs in his career, while Anderson is the format's most prolific fast bowler with a staggering 704 wickets to his name.
James Anderson expects a tough series despite Rohit-Kohli retirements
Anderson is expecting another tough contest between India and England despite the visitors missing players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who retired from the format last month. "This series is going to be exactly the same as you'd expect. I know India are going through a little bit of change with a new captain [Shubman Gill], and losing [Virat] Kohli and [Rohit] Sharma, but I still think they've got a strong squad with some really exciting players. England obviously are trying to play a certain way. It lends itself to a really exciting series," Anderson added.