Monty Panesar

Who is Monty Panesar?

Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar is an English international cricketer who currently plays for Essex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and one-day debut for England in 2007. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009. He has also played for the Lions in South Africa.

Born in Luton to Indian parents, he is the first Sikh to represent a nation other than India in Test cricket. He wears a black patka while playing and training. He is a crowd favourite in England, and many fans have worn patkas and fake beards while watching him play.

During his early international career Panesar often received loud cheers whenever he came on to bat, bowl or field, the latter due to his history of less than skilful fielding. When first selected for England he was widely perceived as being a particularly inept batsman and fielder, which may have contributed to this reception; the TMS commentator Henry Blofeld once accidentally referred to him as Monty Python, a mistake possibly encouraged by his comic reputation. After early success in Test cricket, his results declined, leading to him losing his place in 2009, but his excellent county form saw him named a member of England's Ashes-winning squad which toured Australia in 2010/11. After taking 69 wickets in the 2011 county season Panesar earned a recall for the series against Pakistan in the U.A.E.; he played in the second Test - his first Test appearance in over two and a half years. On the tour of New Zealand in 2013, Panesar took the place of the injured Swann as lead spinner in the side, but managed just 5 wickets costing 70 runs each.