James Anderson, England’s legendary fast bowler, has finally reacted to the renaming of the England-India Test series as the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The series was previously known as the Pataudi Trophy, named after Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and his son Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.
This newly named trophy honors the two most-capped Test players of all time—Sachin Tendulkar (200 Tests) and James Anderson (188 Tests). Anderson, who holds the record for the most wickets by a pace bowler in Test history with 704 scalps, expressed how special and surreal the moment was for him. Despite being deeply honored, he admitted, “I still can’t quite believe it.”
He spoke highly of Sachin Tendulkar, calling him a legend and revealing how much he admired him growing up. Recalling their on-field rivalry, Anderson said, “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.”
He continued ,”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 and Tendulkar played against each other 14 times between 2006 and 2012, with Anderson dismissing the Indian legend on nine occasions.
Fond Memories of England-India Rivalry
Anderson shared how much he always enjoyed playing against India, stating that it is one of the most exciting and awaited Test series after the Ashes. The fierce and respectful competition made the matches memorable for him. Reflecting on his experiences, he said, “There are some great memories, I always loved playing against India.”
“I’d say, after the Ashes, it was the series that England look forward to the most. I obviously had some tough times in India, it’s a really hard place to go, but we won there which was a really special moment, and some of the battles we had in England were great. They had some amazing players.”
India’s Transition and Expectations for the Series
Looking ahead to the upcoming series, Anderson noted that India is in a transition phase, especially with new leadership. He acknowledged the absence of experienced players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but remained optimistic about the quality of the Indian team.
He stated, “This series is going to be exactly the same as you’d expect. I know India is 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.”
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