Monty
Panesar becomes first Sikh
in England teamfor India series
Panesar wins
England spin battle- added as a 16th member to England's
squad
LONDON, January 27, 2006
Rano Sharma
NRI, (non-resident Indian), Monty
Panesar,23, Uncapped left-arm spinner Monty Panesar
has been added as the 16th member of the England squad
for the tour of India.
England leave for India on Feb. 12. They will play
three tests, the first of which starts on March 1
in Nagpur, and seven one-day internationals.
"Monty has done very well for Northamptonshire
over a period of time and I am sure he will be really
excited at the prospect of touring India," said
chairman of selectors David Graveney.
Panesar took 46 wickets at 21.5 runs apiece for
Northamptonshire in eight county championship matches
last season. The Northamptonshire bowler saw off competition
from Ian Blackwell and Alex Loudon and, with senior
England spinner Ashley Giles uncertain to tour because
of a hip injury, Panesar could make his Test debut
on India’s spin-friendly pitches, where he played
for England Under-19s. However, the selectors also
announced that Blackwell had been placed on standby
in the event that Giles failed to regain fitness.
Panesar, a graduate of Loughborough University, has
spent the winter at the Darren Lehmann Academy in
Adelaide where he has been working on improving his
batting.
Panesar says one of his earliest cricketing memories
is studying a frame-by- frame breakdown in a coaching
manual of Bishen Singh Bedi in action. He first learnt
his cricket with people of Indian origin in Luton,
and then joined an all-Indian team in the Hertfordshire
League.
His prowess with spin is acknowledged but to improve
his chances of selection, Panesar is reported to be
also focussing on batting and fielding. When he toured
India in 2001 as part of the Under-19 team, Wisden
described his batting and fielding as an embarrassment.
Wrote Simon Wilde in The Sunday Times: 'At a time
when England's stock of spin bowling talent is at
an all-time low, somebody as young and talented as
Panesar, whose long fingers can really turn the ball,
cannot be ignored for long.'
“I’m absolutely delighted to get this opportunity,”
Panesar told reporters at Lord’s here Friday.
“But I know there is a lot of hard work ahead
of me.” He played down the significance of his
background, saying: “I’m proud to be the
first Sikh to play for England but my focus is very
much on cricket.
“I’m just a cricketer from Luton and I
love playing my cricket.” When the selectors
named a 15-man squad earlier this month, including
left-armer Giles and veteran Hampshire off-spinner
Shaun Udal, both of whom played in the recent 2-0
series defeat in Pakistan, they kept a place open
for a third slow bowler. Panesar had put himself in
contention by taking 46 wickets at just 21.54 apiece
in last season’s County Championship.
Panesar admits his weaknesses in batting and fielding
but says he is working on them with much passion.
Itinerary:
- Feb 12 – Depart London Heathrow, Feb 13 –
Arrive in Mumbai
- Feb 18-20 – three-day practice match, CCI
Mumbai (involving all England players in the squad)
- Feb 23-25 – three-day first class match,
Baroda v President’s XI
- Mar 01-05 – 1st Test, Nagpur
- Mar 09-13 – 2ND Test, Mohali
- Mar 18-22 – 3RD Test, Mumbai
- Mar 25 – one-day tour match, Jaipur
- Mar 28 – 1st ODI, Delhi
- Mar 31 – 2nd ODI, Faridabad
- Apr 03 – 3rd ODI, Goa
- Apr 06 – 4th ODI, Cochin
- Apr 09 – 5th ODI, Guwahati
- Apr 12 – 6th ODI, Jamshedpur
- Apr 15 – 7th ODI, Indore. afp
