The latest edition of the MAK Pataudi Trophy took place in 2021.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is reportedly set to do away with the MAK Pataudi Trophy. It is the trophy that India and England play for during the Test series that takes place in England.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, the ECB’s plan is to retire the trophy altogether. The tournament will have a new name.
Officials introduced the MAK Pataudi Trophy in 2007 to mark 75 years since India and England first faced off in a Test match.
It was played at Lord’s in June 1932. India won the first edition, a three-match series, beating England 1-0 in 2007. England emerged victorious in the next three editions, in 2011, 2014, and 2018.
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The five-match series between the two sides in 2021 ended in a 2-2 draw, with England winning the rescheduled fifth Test by seven wickets in July 2022. It happens to be the last time the two teams played a Test series in England. The Cricbuzz report added that officials have yet to reveal the reason for “retiring” the MAK Pataudi Trophy.
An ECB spokesperson, however, avoided speaking on this development.
“This is not something we’ll be able to offer you a comment on,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
MAK Pataudi’s family, though, has been informed about the development as per the report. “That is the understanding from the ECB. Apparently trophies are retired after some time,” a source close to the family said.
MAK Pataudi is a former India captain who had played 46 Tests from 1961 to 1975. He finished his Test career with 2,793 runs, including six centuries and 16 fifties. He passed away at the age of 70 in September 2011. If this development becomes official, it won’t be the first time officials have “retired” a trophy. They previously changed the name of the Test series between England and the West Indies from the Wisden Trophy to the Richards-Botham Trophy, honoring Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Ian Botham.
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