Former England left arm spinner Monty Panesar is quite astonished at Sam Billings not being a regular part of this England side. He said he expects him to be an automatic selection in the ODI team after his spectacle against Ireland. Sam Billings made his debut for England in 2015 has only played 16 ODIs and 26 T20Is since
The 29 year old was drafted into the team against Ireland following a back injury to Joe Denly. He impressively made 67, 46 and 19 in the three match series. The astounding fact is that Billings has only played 16 ODIs and 26 T20Is since making his debut in 2015.
Monty Panesar Opens Up On Sam Billings’ Selection In The England Squad
Monty Panesar said in Sportstiger’s show ‘Cricket Talks with Monty Panesar,’ “Whenever Billings is playing in on the crease in an ODI he looks very comfortable. It surprises me that why isn’t he in the line-up,” Panesar, who has taken 167 wickets in 50 Tests, said in “He should be an automatic selection in the top six for the team. Now, with these performances, I would expect him to be there for sure.”
Monty said Ireland will have a lot of learning to take from this series against England, especially when playing against Test-playing nations.
Ireland Will Learn A Lot Going Further: Monty Panesar
“Ireland will learn a lot about their cricket, where it stands at the moment and where it needs to go. One area of concern is that they keep getting out to left-arm seam bowling of David Willey and Reece Topley,” he said.
“So, they have not really worked out a game-plan. Irish cricket will always come up with some sort of struggles against the bigger nations. So, they will have to work out a game plan for that and also how quick learners are they,” Panesar added.
Sam Billings has always been a very vibrant player, showing his skills time and again. He will not feature in this season of the IPL after withdrawing his name from the auctions in December 2019 to focus on County cricket. Billings played for Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and 2019 season, struggling for playing time in the side.