Monty Panesar is one of the few England spinners who have really made a mark in the game in the last two decades or so. While his stats are not at all pleasing to the eyes, there is little denying the impact he has had. In fact, Panesar was a revelation in England cricket which was desperate to have a quality spinner in its ranks.
Such was his impact that he was even considered the saviour of English spin bowling at one point of time. He broke into the England team for the 2006 tour of India in February and made an instant impressive. The left-arm spinner made his Test debut at Nagpur where he dismissed his boyhood hero Sachin Tendulkar, as his first Test wicket and Rahul Dravid as his third.
But he did not quite prolong his legacy with Graeme Swann soon becoming the spin spearhead. Lack of form and indiscipline soon derailed his career. He had a brief revival in 2012 when he played an integral role in England’s memorable series win in India in 2012-13. Panesar claimed 17 wickets with his left-arm spin in the final three Tests to help engineer a come-from-behind triumph for the visitors.
Things, however, has changed drastically for Panesar now. Panesar been out of the professional game since being released by Northamptonshire in 2016 and is on the hunt for a new team. In fact, Panesar is so desperate to get back into action that he took to Twitter to plead to the teams of Saturday League to pick him up.
“Hi guys. I am still open to offers for Saturday League cricket this season. Please contact Clive at Shooting Stars Management to discuss. 07942864896”
Hi guys. I am still open to offers for Saturday League cricket this season. Please contact Clive at Shooting Stars Management to discuss. 07942864896
— Monty Panesar (@MontyPanesar) March 26, 2019
Overall, Panesar took 167 wickets in 50 Test for England, including an impressive 12 five-wicket hauls. He also represented England in 26 ODIs and 1 T20I, picking 24 and 2 wickets respectively.