I was labelled as âtraitorâ for not playing for India, reveals Monty Panesar
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Monty Panesar has revealed that the crowd during the Mohali Test called him a traitor for not playing for India. Panesar played 50 Tests for England, bagging 167 wickets with his memorable performance coming in the 2012 Test series in India, where he led the spin attack with unmatched confidence.
Monty Panesar has become the talk of the town after he revealed a few sensational things related to ball-tampering in his book Full Monty. In an exclusive interview with Mumbai Mirror, Panesar recalled an incident during the Mohali Test in 2008, where the crowd booed him and called him a traitor for not playing for India.Â
âI remember the Mohali Test. It was second time around there. The crowd was booing me as a traitor. They would shout âyou should be playing for your deshâ which is India, not England. At the start, they thought of me as apna Punjabi munda playing for England. I thought India had a feeling that it was a proud moment for them, and they celebrated my success. When I started doing well against India, I was labelled as a traitor,â said Panesar, reported Mirror.
Panesar further said that alongside Harbhajan Singh, the duo would have formed a great spin attack if he had a chance to play for India. Panesar played 5o Tests for England and 26 ODIs, where he bagged 167 and 24 wickets respectively.
On being asked on his chances to play for India if given a chance, Panesar replied, âGood question, it really depends on who are the other spinners at that time. I would have seen if there was another left-arm spinner. Then would it be Bhajji and Monty -- two sardars playing for India? (Laughs). It would have been great bowling for India, the spinners there get help. But look, I was born in England, my roots are in England, my thinking is English and my habits are English. I am very proud I played for England. I regard that as a huge honour."
Panesar also believes India and England are two good sides in the World Cup and would love to see both the teams locking horns in the final. He was also impressed with the rise of Jasprit Bumrah as a bowler and preferred England winning the title by a whisker. Â
âI think India have got a very good chance. Jasprit Bumrah has become an unbelievable bowler. Then Kohli. He is different from what he was in the past. India is going to be always strong. The World Cup needs India to be strong. It is in the interest of the World Cup that India and England should do well. We donât want another 2007. The best-case scenario would be an India-England final and England winning by a small margin,â Panesar added.
