Ind-Eng Test series: Tokenism on cards with Pataudi medal for winning captain?

The last has not been heard on the controversy over renaming the Pataudi Trophy, given to the winners of the India-England Test series played in England since 2007. Barely two days before the first Test for the rechristened Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy gets underway at Leeds in Headingley on Friday, the buzz is that the winning captain may now be awarded a Pataudi medallion of excellence.

After the decision to dispense with the legacy of the Pataudi family became public earlier this month (Saif Ali Khan received a letter to this effect from the England & Wales Cricket Board back in April), it sparked an outrage in the cricket community in India. From the peers of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, his family members as well as commentators of the game, a move by the ECB with a buy-in from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), met with a strong wave of criticism.

It is now learnt that both the boards have reportedly got into damage-control mode with Sachin Tendulkar quietly getting into the fray along with Jay Shah, the BCCI strongman and now the chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC), to convince the ECB to retain the legacy of the Pataudis in some form in the series.

Media reports say plans are afoot to award the winning captain a Pataudi Medal of Excellence to keep alive the legacy of both Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the only cricketer to have played for both England and India, and his illustrious son Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, simply 'Tiger' to his admirers.

Interestingly, the ECB had kept on hold it’s official inauguration of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy — named after two of their modern greats — and it is now scheduled to take place at Leeds a day before the series kicks off. The argument on part of ECB was that renaming the trophy after England’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and the Indian batting great would be more relatable for the current generation.  

However, a move like instituting a medallion in place of the winners’ trophy will be nothing but a form of tokenism, but it apparently has a buy-in from the Pataudi family, which also got dragged into the crossfire. Speaking to the Hindustan Times in an interview in April, Pataudi’s wife Sharmila Tagore had said: ‘’I haven’t heard from them, but the ECB has sent a letter to Saif that they are retiring the trophy. If the BCCI wants to or does not want to remember Tiger’s legacy, it is for them to decide.’’

When contacted by National Herald, BCCI secretary Devojit Saikia was non-committal: ‘’There could be certain plans but I cannot comment on it. A clear picture will emerge over the next few days.’’

WTC 2025-27 kicks off

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s two-Test series at home against Bangladesh, which began on Tuesday, kicked off the 2025-27 cycle of the World Test Championships (WTC). South Africa emerged as the surprise champions of the last WTC 2023-25 when they tamed Australia in a thrilling final at the Lord’s on Saturday.

The India-England series will be the second one of the cycle while beaten finalists Australia begin their bid to regain the WTC crown in the Caribbean when they take on West Indies in a three-Test series for the right to lift the Frank Worrell Trophy.

As per the previous cycles, nine teams will contest the WTC and each nation will play six other sides – three home and three away – over the course of the two-year period.

Australia play 11 matches at home — including an Ashes series against England later this year and four Tests against New Zealand — and the same number away. England play 11 Tests on their own turf and 10 on the road, visiting beaten WTC Final 2025 finalists South Africa for a three-Test tour in December 2026.

India will play 18 matches in this cycle, split evenly home and away, with 2021 champions New Zealand playing in 16. The points percentage system used in the previous two editions will determine the leaderboard with teams getting 12 points for a win, six for a tie and four for a draw.