His Indian origin and cult status would certainly add sheen to the Indian Premier League but England's left-arm spinner Monty Panesar rues he does not have any offer on the table.
LONDON: His Indian origin and cult status would certainly add sheen to the Indian Premier League but England's left-arm spinner Monty Panesar rues he does not have any offer on the table from any of the IPL franchises.
In his column for 'Daily Mail', Panesar admits the amount of money floating around is mind-boggling but says, almost lamenting, he is yet to be approached to be part of the IPL razzmatazz.
"Everyone is talking about all the money flying around cricket at the moment, but I haven't heard from any of the Indian Premier League teams. I certainly haven't got any offers on the table," said the spinner.
"You can't help but think about these things from time to time but I guess, for me, it's not meant to be," Panesar said.
"As for the Stanford match in Antigua, I'll just have to wait and see what the selectors decide to do. One day, if I do end up earning millions of pounds from cricket, maybe I could buy Luton Town FC and make myself chairman. I could be the first Sikh chairman. That would be fantastic," he said.
On Twenty20, Panesar said enjoyed the format playing for Northamptonshire but still found it "a bit hit-and-miss".
"It is a constant battle to outwit the batsman - a guessing game really. I might bowl really full, then try a couple of slower balls, then a much quicker one, then drop it short. I try everything to stay one step ahead, but I still think it's a batsman's game," he said.
Panesar reckons he would be under pressure to deliver the goods in the Test series against South Africa, especially because of the visitors' poor track record against quality spin, but the first Sikh to play for England warns people should not expects miracles from him.
"There seems to be a belief that South Africa's batsmen are good players of pace bowling but might be vulnerable against spin. To me, that is a myth. I'm not entirely sure how good they are at playing spin, but what I do know is that they are a world class side who have gone up to No 2 in the Test rankings.
"So there's really no point me getting too carried away, thinking I can cause them lots of trouble. For all I know, they could play me as well as they play any of our fast bowlers," Panesar said, as if to reduce the burden of expectation.
"Anyway, I have to keep reminding people that I am no magician. I am not a Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan; I'm just an orthodox spinner. There's nothing more to it than that, so please don't expect any magic from me!"
"People are saying I could have a key role in this series but, as usual, I'm trying not to put any extra pressure on myself," Panesar said.
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