When reports first emerged of the Pataudi Trophy, which India and England cricketers played for on English soil from 2007 to 2021, a source from the England & Wales Cricket Board said that trophies have been retired in the past. She or he could well have been referring to the fact that England and West Indies no longer play for the Wisden Trophy. (Botham-Richards Trophy now).

But Wisden is not a former Test captain, or Test player for that matter with due respect to the prestigious annual publication which they call the bible of cricket. Recently, we heard it from the grapevine that a trophy will be instituted in the honour of Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson for India vs England Tests. This move was viewed as insensitive and insulting to the Pataudi family; the silverware constituting father IAK and son MAK.

All this may have put Tendulkar in a sticky situation wherein he was probably caught between spurning the massive honour or accepting it and ensuring the Pataudi element stayed in the India-England rivalry. The Indian all-time great contacted the Pataudi family and assured them that the father and son pair would stay connected to the series through the Pataudi Medal of Excellence, to be presented to the winning captain.