England spinner Monty Panesar eyes a recall when the Three Lions tours of Bangladesh and India this winter. He recently joined his former club Northamptonshire following his release from Essex at the end of last season.
The 33-year-old spinner has represented England in 50 Test matches and picked up 167 wickets. He played his last Test against Australia at Melbourne in 2013 and since then played only domestic cricket.
The slow left-arm orthodox bowler is currently working his way back to fitness after a shoulder surgery last winter. He also admitted that regaining his Test spot back is driving his quick recovery.
In the past, Panesar has achieved success in subcontinent conditions with his clever bowling. He played a very important role in England’s last tour of India back in 2012. With Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid struggled against Pakistan on the turning pitches of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year, he might get a recall in the nation side.
One of my goals is the subcontinent tours of Bangladesh and India: Panesar
The Luton-born cricketer told the Daily Telegraph, "One of my goals is the subcontinent tours of Bangladesh and India. It is the reason I am doing these sessions and hard work.”
He is confident in his abilities and believes that he can achieve his goal. He said, "Step by step I hope I can get there because I still have huge ambitions. I still think I am good enough if I am bowling at my best I am still able to bowl at that level and perform."
I would feel that my own teammates were out to get me – Panesar
Panesar suffered some mental issues which reflected on his performances last season at Essex. After securing independent financial support to cover his wages at Northamptonshire, he spoke frankly about overcoming the mental demons which dragged him down last season.
He said, "I had paranoia issues. Mentally my confidence would go low and I would feel like my own team-mates were out to get me. When you have mental health issues people stay in denial for a long time and I did that. It took me a while to come out of that. But I suddenly realised why am I behaving so abruptly with people.”
The spinner insists that he has come out of the mental problems and feels a lot better now. He said, "I just needed talk through it and identify what was wrong. I have come out of that and I feel a lot better about myself. People are now saying to me that I am lot more together and more my old self."
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