James Anderson spoke of his respect for Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar on Monday after it was announced the trophy for the forthcoming England-India Test series would be called the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will formally unveil the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy prior to the eagerly awaited five-match Test series, which gets underway on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.
"It is an enormous privilege. I am still hardly believing it. Sachin was a player I admired as a kid, although I don't wish to do him injustice with his age," Anderson told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
"I recall playing against him, a total great of the game, and I played a lot against him too. So to win this trophy is a great honour for me personally, and I couldn't be prouder.
Looking back at playing against the Indian team, Anderson emphasized the importance of those matches in his career.".
"There are some wonderful memories, I always enjoyed playing against India. I'd say, second only after the Ashes, it was the series that England anticipate the most."
He did concede that playing on Indian soil was tough, but the victories gained there were also cherished.
I clearly had some difficult times in India, it's a very difficult place to travel, but we won there which was a very special occasion, and some of the fights we had in England were excellent. They had some brilliant players."
Anderson also shared his thoughts on the contemporary situation within the Indian team, highlighting the change of leadership and roster updates.
This series is going to be the same as you'd predict. I know India are experiencing a little bit of transition with a new captain (Shubman Gill), and the loss of (Virat) Kohli and (Rohit) Sharma, but I still believe they've got a good side with some really exciting players."
He finished on an optimistic note for the series ahead: "England clearly are attempting to play a particular fashion. It suits itself to a very thrilling series," he added.
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