Born on April 25, 1982, Monty Panesar is a slow orthodox left arm spinner who has played the game at the highest order with distinction. Making his Test debut against India at Nagpur, Monty quietly established himself as the first choice spinner, offering variety to the English bowling line-up.

He did not have to wait for too long to achieve his first five wicket haul. His analysis of 5/78 against Sri Lanka came in just his 6th Test in England colours. It was then followed by a profitable home summer against Pakistan where he collected 17 wickets from just 4 Test matches. When England toured Australia in the winter of 2006, Panesar was expected to make the playing XI but was surprisingly omitted in favour of Ashley Giles. England went 2-0 down and Panesar finally got to make his Ashes debut during the third Test at Perth.

He immediately showed his value picking up a five wicket haul on return and ended the series with 10 wickets even as England were blanked by a 5-0 margin. Panesar started the 2007 home season against West Indies on a bright note picking up 23 wickets from 4 Tests but struggled to make any sort of impact against sub-continental giants, India as the tourists recorded a historic 1-0 series win.

Panersar did showcase occasional brilliance but it was becoming more and more certain that he had lost the touch which made him a force to reckon with. The rapid rise of Graeme Swann signalled a temporary halt to Panesar's career as he was axed after a disappointing sojourn of the Caribbean Islands in 2009.

Panesar had to wait for nearly three years for a comeback into the national side during the tour of UAE for a 3 Test series against Pakistan in 2012. Wiser with experience, Panesar teamed up with Graeme Swann to form a formidable spin pairing for England. He took 14 wickets from two Test matches. England lost the series by a 3-0 margin but Panesar's confidence had been raised substantially. When England returned to the sub-continent for a 4 Test series against India in 2012, Monty and Swann spun a web around the Indians as England completed a historic 2-1 series win, their first in Indian soil after 28 years. Panesar took 11/210 in the Mumbai Test, his best ever figures in a Test match and the smile was back on the Sardar's face.

Panesar was involved in a controversy when he was fined by the Police for urinating in public near the Shooshh Club at King's Road Arches, Brighton, on 5 August 2013. He was asked to leave the club since he was harassing women, but he later on went onto urinate on the bouncers of the club. However, he returned to the side with Graeme Swann announcing a sudden retirement from international cricket and played a couple of Test matches in the 2013-14 Ashes series Down Under.

by Pradeep Krishnamurthy - March, 2014