Following Sharmila Tagore's letter to BCCI president N Srinivasan expressing her discontent over the Board's delay in naming the India-England Test series trophy (in India) after her husband and former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the Board was quick to react, saying it had already named the trophy after its first secretary ufffd Anthony De Mello ufffd way back in 1951
While that may be true, the silverware that got importance after every recent India vs England home series was the sponsors’ trophy. In fact, until last evening, the BCCI website did not have any mention of the De Mello Trophy.
In 2008, when India beat England 1-0 in a two-Test series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was presented the RBS Cup, and not the De Mello trophy.
“In 2007, when MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) proposed the institution of Pataudi Trophy for England-India series, the BCCI had clarified that the trophy is already named after Anthony De Mello,” BCCI said. Going by this statement, India and England will fight for the Pataudi Trophy only in series played in England.
Former BCCI secretary, Jaywant Lele wondered what the fuss was all about. “According to statistics available to me, both the 2008 series (in India) and 2011 series (in England) have been named after the Pataudi family. I don’t know what the confusion is all about,” said Lele. u00a0
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