CricTracker Exclusive: Virender Sehwag is the most talented player I played with: Monty Panesar

A young Punjabi boy from Luton, who went on to become a spin bowling sensation for England, Monty Panesar’s journey has been full of roller coaster ride through various stages. He has seen it all, and every time, he faced tough times, he made sure that he fought through them like a true warrior and emerged victorious on all the occasions.

Currently trying to play competitive cricket again, and also trying to get into the field of cricket broadcasting, Monty talks about his early days in cricket, his fight with mental health issues and his first tour to India, in an exclusive interview with CricTracker.

Here are the excerpts:

What were your early days in cricket like?

When I used to live in Luton, we had a club there called the Luton Town Meridians, and there was my dad’s friend, who had a passion to make at least one player from the club play international cricket. This is how I started my journey.

You also had an interest in WWE. Did you ever consider taking it up as a profession?

I used to wrestle with my younger brother. And, we used to imitate the wrestling stars like Hulk Hogan. We imitated the way they jumped, their moves like the pushes and TGT and this used to leave blue marks on our body and face. But we enjoyed and kept ongoing. But, I did not consider taking it up professionally.

You had a pretty successful England career. So how does it feel becoming an inspirational figure for the British Asians, aspiring to play cricket?

When I started, there was no Asian in the team. But over the years, players of Asian descent like Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali have come into the team. All of them were my juniors, and when they would have seen me play, the thought that, if Monty can do it, then we can also make it into the England cricket team, must have come into their minds.

This would have brought in a sense of confidence in them. And, it is great to see them play. Like when we won the World Cup last year, there were two players with Asian descent in the team, namely, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. Even Ravi Bopara is doing great in T20 cricket.

Please elaborate the moment when you were first selected for England. It seemed there was confusion over a call with David Graveney.

I remember I was with my friends, when the call from David Graveney came. At that time, I did not know that he was the chairman of selectors. So, when he called me for the trials, telling me that there is a requirement of two spinners, then I took the matter seriously because a person like David, who was from the higher authorities had called me.

Actually I did not expect back then that I will get a call up for England. I knew that I was not great while batting or fielding, but my bowling was really strong. But things did work out, as the team was going to India and Ashley Giles was not available so this opened the doors for me to get into the team.

How were you feeling on the night before your Test debut?

When Andrew Flintoff picked me, I went into the hotel room and mapped out the plans for each and every player, marking out the fielding positions and the strategies of how to dismiss them. Because I knew when we will be playing in India, the cheering from the crowd and the overall atmosphere makes it difficult to communicate with each other on the field.

So, this made things clear for my captain, Andrew Flintoff, as he knew that Monty needs this kind of a field set up. This also let Flintoff focus more on the game situation. It also brought in a sense of confidence in Flintoff’s mind regarding my bowling. Playing in India is not at all easy. The atmosphere intimidates you and this can lead to confusions in a player’s clarity of thought.

It takes a toll especially on players from England who have not had the experience of playing in such a loud atmosphere. I think even the Indian payers know about this that they can intimidate the opposition. There are turning wickets in India, and this also adds to the pressure. The intensity of the sport is really high in India and this makes a player better.

On my first tour to India, I bowled around 40 overs. And I clearly remember being appreciated by Harbhajan Singh, who told me, “Singh, badi achi spell ki bowling ki” (Singh, you were pretty good in that spell). That also gave me confidence, as a great player like Harbhajan Singh was appreciating me in my very first Test match.

India has always been a special place for me while playing cricket, as I learnt a lot of things over there. How to handle the intensity? How to bowl to big players? Their ruthlessness, the way they hit you for sixes and fours. That intensity does make a player better. In my first tour itself, I learnt how to handle such high intensity on the field.

I was really happy to have handled to intensity so well on the field. And, I am really grateful for the support that I got from Duncan Fletcher and Andrew Flintoff, and even the Indian players, like Harbhajan Singh, who appreciated me. That helped me a lot and made me believe that I can play at this level. Gestures like these and a great player like Sachin signing the ball for me, gave me a lot of confidence.

Who according to you is the best spinner in the Indian team at the moment?

It is really hard to choose. Have a look at Ravi Ashwin, he is the fastest to 300 wickets, Jadeja bats really well and bowls well too, Kuldeep’s talent has such a storehouse of talent. India has a lot of talent. But according to me, for longevity, in Test matches, finger spinners like Ashwin and Jadeja should play and the two also make a great pair. But out and out, in terms of finger spinner, Ashwin is the best. His skill level and his spinning abilities are the best of the lot.

How was it during the time when you were out due to your mental health issues?

My family supported me a lot. I did not know that I was going through this, but my family used to repeatedly tell me that something was wrong and I should go and consult a doctor. My family could see everything but I was unaware of it myself. This is the problem with mental health issues, they force us into a state of denial. Then when my mom got me an appointment with a doctor, who happens to be the son-in-law of her very close friend. He told me that I should get treated as my sufferings, even though not visible to me, were clearly evident to my family.

We are sportsmen, whose only focus is to win and avoid any losses for the team, and this makes us think that sportsmen will not get mental health issues. But when it does happen, even in India, if a family member or a friend tells you that something’s wrong, talk to him. It is really important to open up in such situations about your problems, and if you don’t, it will become a reality for your brain and that will cause you to do things that you won’t do in your normal state of mind.

Are you still playing cricket for your local side? What are your future plans?

I do want to play professional cricket for Northampton. But my training is on a halt for the next 4 weeks due to this virus outbreak.

During your playing days, who according to you was the most talented player, you played with or against?

Virender Sehwag. I think, even he doesn’t know about the talent he has. While playing in an MCC game with him, I observed that he was so relaxed and had such a great peace of mind. He hits the ball with the same speed as it comes to him. He has nothing to fear and is completely fearless. There are very few cricketers who play like him. Even his personality is great.

Your thoughts on this Coronavirus outbreak which has had a big impact on Cricket?

I would like to say, in India, people should just stay back at their homes. As the virus’ rate of spread is really high and if it affects a single person, the infection can potentially spread to 59,000 people. Just like we, the sportsmen, have a lot of self-discipline, even staying at home is a matter of self-discipline.

I would sincerely request the Indians to take all of the preventive measures as I don’t want the condition over there to get like that of the UK or the rest of Europe. Indians should learn from these countries and take a lesson from them.

How have the things been since you have been away from Cricket? You have been involved in various activites. Has it helped you overcome your mental health issues?

I am completely fine mentally right now. I haven’t taken any medication in the past 2-3 years and I am physically and mentally back. While trying to play competitive cricket this year, I also want to step into the field of broadcasting.

I want to become a media broadcaster. I am really eager to talk about cricket and stay involved with it. After I leave cricket, I want to take up something that gives me the same experience as that of taking a wicket. And, commentary is one such thing that can bring that to me.

What would you like to tell about your book, ‘Monty Panesar: The Full Monty’?

I had gotten a chance to write a book, encapsulating my journey from having a goal, how I reached there and the ups and downs in my journey. How I handled my difficulties and came back from the worst of times. Every human has a story and I wanted it to put it all in a book.

I also wish to put this into a movie, a biopic. I have thoughts of doing that with Mr Yograj Singh. He has told me that he wants to do it with me. When we had met in the UK, he had said that he wanted to make a biopic on me. I want no one other than Mr Yograj to work on my biopic.