England-India Test series to be named after Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson

‌The India-England Test series will be rechristened as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as both teams are set to lock horns in the five-Test duel with the first match in Leeds on June 20. Both former players and cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson will have their names engraved on the silverware with the duo expected to unveil the trophy at Lord’s during the World Test Championship final that kicks off on June 11.

The England Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India have decided to do away with multiple names for the series and to have a uniform name whenever both sides meet in the longest format. Both teams competed for the Pataudi Trophy, named after former India captains Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (son of the former), whenever India toured England.  While in India the series went by the name of Anthony de Mello, who was one of the founding members of the BCCi and also its inaugural secretary and president.

With England and India starting their new World Test Championship campaign with a five-Test series this month, both Tendulkar and Anderson have deservedly been recognised after stellar careers with their respective national sides. While Tendulkar represented India in a mammoth 200 Tests with a tally of 15921 runs, including 51 centuries, at an average of 53.78, Anderson has been the only fast bowler in the history of Test cricket to go past 700 wickets in his storied career of 188 Test matches for England.

The renaming of the series follows the recent trend of respective cricket boards to name the bilateral assignments between the sides after former legends who have graced the game. The New Zealand vs England Test matches were named as the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy in November 2024 with the India-Australia duel being called the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for some time now.