After it got revealed that the India-England Test series is going to be named Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, James Anderson gave a massive statement.

After it was revealed that the trophy for the India-England Test series is going to be named after James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar, Anderson said that Sachin was someone he looked up to while growing up.

It is believed that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will formally reveal the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy as a lead-up to the five-match Test series between India and England.

“It’s a huge honour. I still can’t quite believe it. Sachin is someone I looked up to when I was growing up, though I don’t want to do him a disservice with his age,” Anderson told ESPNCricinfo.

“I remember watching him, an absolute legend of the game, and I played against him a lot as well. So to have this trophy is a huge honour for me, and I couldn’t be more proud,” he added.

Talking about his experience of playing against India, Anderson said, “There are some great memories, I always loved playing against India. I’d say, after the Ashes, it was the series that England look forward to the most.”

“I obviously had some tough times in India, it’s a really hard place to go, but we won there which was a really special moment, and some of the battles we had in England were great. They had some amazing players,” he added.

Anderson said India have put together a “strong squad” for the series in England following retirements of batting greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

“This series is going to be exactly the same as you’d expect. I know India are going through a little bit of change with a new captain (Shubman Gill), and losing (Virat) Kohli and (Rohit) Sharma, but I still think they’ve got a strong squad with some really exciting players. England obviously are trying to play a certain way. It lends itself to a really exciting series,” he said.

The India-England series is going to begin June 20, with Shubman Gill leading the visitors. The Indian team has witnessed a transition to a new era as veteran players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from the format and young players being named in their place.