Panesar looks for Indian boost

When Monty Panesar had first visited India as a member of the England team in 2006, there was a bit of a mystery surrounding the left-arm spinner – one that spoke of his Indian origin and about him being England’s answer to dearth of spin. The conditions here brought the best out of Monty. The wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in Nagpur, his first Test scalp, gave him the perfect boost to his confidence.

Over the past two years though, that confidence seems to have waned a bit, with Monty failing to keep his place in the one-day team. With the Test series coming up against New Zealand, his India trip may just help him to regain his confidence.

He is a part of the visiting England Lions team that will take part in the Duleep Trophy, along with the talented 21-year-old leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

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The duo has David Parsons, the director of England’s National Performance Centre (NPC) in Loughborough as coach on this tour. Parsons, a former club cricketer, succeeded Peter Moores and has also spent time assisting England’s chief coach back home.

Before leaving for India, Parsons told ECB how he had once discussed with Moores where the Lions should be heading next. “The sub-continent,” Moores had said, where “conditions are different and the right place to test the players.”