Told Pataudi family, will do everything to keep his legacy alive: Sachin Tendulkar
New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI): Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday said he reached out to the family of late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as soon as he got to know that the India-England Test series trophy was being renamed and tried to ensure that the former captain's association with the marquee showdown remained intact.
The Pataudi trophy has been replaced by the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy in honour of the Indian batting great and former England pacer James Anderson. The decision to retire the Pataudi trophy was jointly taken by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the BCCI.
"I know that the Pataudi Trophy was retired a few months ago by BCCI and ECB. But when I got to know about the trophy being named after me and (James) Anderson, my first phone call was to the Pataudi family," the Mumbai maestro recalled in an interview to PTI.
"Tiger Pataudi played a huge role in inspiring many generations and that should be never forgotten. So I'm glad with this outcome," the 52-year-old, who is still the owner of highest number of Test runs, said.
The Pataudi name will continue to be attached to the series as it has been decided to present a newly-instituted Pataudi Medal for Excellence' to the winning captain.
This was after Tendulkar had multiple discussions with former BCCI secretary and current ICC chairman Jay Shah as well as bigwigs of ECB on the issue.
"I spoke to them. I told them everything. At the same time, I mentioned that to keep the Pataudi legacy alive, we will do everything possible. And then I picked up the phone and spoke to Mr Shah and ECB officials and shared a few ideas.
"Because it played a huge role in inspiring many generations and that should be never forgotten," he said.
Tendulkar said he was pleased with the outcome of his discussions with the BCCI and the ECB on the retention of Pataudi's name in the series.
"I'm very happy that this kind of attention to detail was given to our discussions and eventually came up with the option of having a medal in his honour," he said.
"I felt all the phone calls made and all the discussions that we had, it was good. And in the end, it produced a positive result for not just Anderson and me, because the decision was taken by BCCI and ECB, but also simultaneously also decided to introduce this medal in his honour, which is a nice feeling."
Tendulkar and Anderson are bonafide legends of the game, having played 200 and 188 Tests respectively for their countries.
"My first trip to England was in 1988 and the first flight ever I took was from Mumbai to London. So, to hear that the trophy is going to be named after me sometime ago was heartwarming. I felt happy," Tendulkar said.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
