Panesar gets 300,000 pounds autobiography deal

LONDON: Leg-spinner Monty Panesar, the only Sikh in the England cricket team, has clinched a publishing deal worth more than 300,000 pounds to tell his life story.

According to reports, seven months into his Test career, 24-year-old Panesar has achieved a cult status that led to the book deal with Hodder and Stoughton, the publishing group.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, some may wonder whether Panesar, who has played just 10 Tests, can find enough material to fill the autobiography.

A little more than 12 months ago, the cricketer, whose parents moved from Punjab in India to England in the late 1970s, was completing a degree in computer science at Loughborough University.

But Roddy Bloomfield, Hodder's sports editor, said the company -- which is said to have beaten off 14 other publishers -- was keen to make the most of Panesar's sudden fame.

The leggie is regarded as one of the world's best young spin bowlers and is expected to play a key role in England's battle to retain the Ashes against Australia this year.

Bloomfield said: "He will talk about his upbringing, how he fought his way up in unlikely circumstances, how he went to see a guru in Canada to get a better perspective on his life."

Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, Panesar is the first Sikh to represent a nation other than India in Test cricket. He has been nicknamed "Monty Python" since Henry Blofeld, the BBC commentator, accidentally referred to him as such.

Panesar's bowling skills have already helped secure him a central contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board from which he could earn about 250,000 pounds.