"If BCCI Doesn't Want To Remember Tiger's Legacy…": Sharmila Tagore On England Board's Call To Retire Pataudi Trophy

After the IPL 2025, the Indian cricket team will fly out to England for a five-Test series starting June 20. However, this time the tournament may not be called the Pataudi Trophy – named after the Pataudi family which gave India two captains Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi [nicknamed Tiger Pataudi]. A report in Cricbuzz said that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is contemplating to ‘retire’ the Pataudi Trophy from the upcoming series. The Pataudi Trophy was first awarded in 2007 to commemorate 75 years of first India vs England Test. Since then, the Pataudi Trophy has been the name of the India vs England bilateral contest played in England. 

India vs England Test series played in India is called the Anthony de Mello Trophy, named after a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The apparent move to ‘retire’ the Pataudi Trophy has hurt Sharmila Tagore, actor and wife of the late Tiger Pataudi. “I haven’t heard from them, but the ECB has sent a letter to Saif that they are retiring the trophy,” Sharmila told HT. “If the BCCI wants to or does not want to remember Tiger’s legacy, it is for them to decide.”

The ECB has neither denied nor accepted the development. “This is not something we’ll be able to offer you a comment on,” an ECB spokerperson said.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, one of the greatest cricket captains India has produced, died in New Delhi in 20211 after battling with a lung infection. Pataudi, regarded as one of the finest Indian captains, played 46 Tests for the country, scoring 2793 runs for an average of 34.91 with an unbeaten 203 being his highest score. In all, he smashed six centuries and 16 fifties in his career.

Though retiring a trophy is not common in cricket, it has happened in the past. Like the Wisden Trophy, played between England and West Indies, which was renamed as Richards-Botham trophy.