 "James Anderson looking dejected after being hit for four by Sachin Tendulkar. Image: Reuters")
England fast bowler James Anderson has said that he looked up to India legend Sachin Tendulkar while growing up. His comments came after it was revealed that the trophy for the Test series between England and India will now be named after the two legends - Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson.
The trophy will now be called the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy and it is expected to be officially announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The series was earlier called the Pataudi Trophy, named after Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, who played for both India and England.
Anderson on Tendulkar
The big five-match Test series between India and England will begin on 20 June at Headingley, Leeds. This will be the first time that the two teams will compete for the newly named trophy. Ahead of the series opener, Anderson opened up on the new name for the contest and also shared his admiration for Tendulkar.
“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," Anderson told ESPNCricinfo.
“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.” Talking about his experience of playing against India, Anderson 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." Anderson said India have put together a “strong squad” for the series in England following retirements of batting greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“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,” he added.
(With agency inputs)