[Exclusive] Monty Panesar blames T20 leagues for lack of spinners in England

Monty Panesar was one of the few spinners in the pace-heavy England team to leave a mark on the sport. He played 50 Tests in his illustrious career, picking 167 wickets at an average of 34.71. The other notable spinner to emerge from the English land was Graeme Swann. However, since then, it has been a lost but not found case with the English when it comes to specialist spinners, especially in red-ball cricket.

Panesar shed light on the lack of spinning options in the England team and credited the loss of exposure as a reason for not manufacturing the next Swann or Panesar. He also highlighted leagues such as The Hundred and T20 Blast as the reason why the budding spinners have to let go the chance of utilising the English summer, when County Championships are scheduled.

Also Read: England are not focused on WTC: Monty Panesar

“In England, there’s a schedule. There’s the Hundred which takes place in August. We play County Championships and the out grounds will get an opportunity to play. These have become fewer due to the schedule of the Hundred. The specialist spinners do not get the opportunity to play much cricket and when the summer starts, there’s T20 Blast, international cricket, and The Hundred. So, the two specialist spinners who used to play earlier have become fewer,” said Panesar speaking exclusively with CricTracker on the sidelines of Legends League Cricket 2024. 

Also Read: Panesar compares BCCI, ECB while taking R Ashwin's example

For the unversed, Swann is one of the most successful spinners from England. He played 60 Tests and picked 255 wickets at an average of 29.96. In white-ball, England have stuck with Adil Rashid as their premier spinner, but the Brendon McCullum-coached side is opening doors for young spinners such as Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed.