Monty Panesar, former England left-arm spinner,has decided to call it quits from Kashmir Premier League (KPL) following threats from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). KPL is a newly launched league by Pakistan and is scheduled to run from August 6 to August 16 with namely six teams including the Rawalakot Hawks, Kotli Lions, Mirpur Royals, Muzaffarabad Tigers, Overseas Warriors, and Bagh Stallions. Even though he has pulled out his name from the league, it is important to consider the reason behind it.
BCCI had allegedly warned about the consequences to all the overseas players participating in the tournament. Thus, Panesar came up with the decision to pull out his name from the league. With no love and respect for India and its interests, Panesar took the decision so that his career in India does not get hampered.
“I had the opportunity to play in the ‘KPL’ and I thought I could play again. However, I was advised that the BCCI is telling players who will play in the ‘Kashmir Premier League’ might face consequences. As I am just starting my career in sports media I want to work in India. Therefore I thought it would be better to not play in the ‘Kashmir Premier League’. I don’t want come between cricket and politics,” Monty Panesar said.
He also added that there were probabilities of him not getting an Indian visa in the future which eventually, can hamper his commentary and coaching career in India to a greater extent.
Panesar also warned the other players who are supposed to participate in the league. He stated that they should think about the consequences first before taking part in the ‘Kashmir Premier League’.
Monty Panesar, is a former English left-arm spinner,who made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In January 2017, Panesar was enrolled by Cricket Australia as a spin-bowling consultant for the tour of India. In August 2019, he revealed that he was in talks with the Indian domestic team Puducherry, with an outlook to play in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy.
Monty Panesar- the vocal Khalistani
Reportedly, former cricketer Monty Panesar had also promoted separatism in India by supporting Khalistan in June 2019. Monty Panesar had tweeted, “The events that took place on 1st June 1984 are still in the minds of our community. Being at Trafalgar Square you can see the passion of wanting Khalisatan, but do the people in Punjab want Khalistan? #NeverForget84 @WhiteOwlBooks @media_back @SSMAgents.”
The events that took place 1st June 1984 are still in the minds of our community.Being at Trafalgar Square you can see the passion of wanting Khalisatan, but do the people in Punjab want Khalisatan?#NeverForget84 @WhiteOwlBooks @media_back @SSMAgents @StarPeopleM #CWC19 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/wKy82hBV6w
— Monty Panesar (@MontyPanesar) June 2, 2019
Khalistanis are supporters of the Khalistan movement, which is a Sikh separatist movement in quest of creation of homeland for Sikhs by forming a sovereign state, called Khalistan. The proposed state is supposed to acquire the land that currently forms Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan.
Monty Panesar- the supporter of Farmer’s Protest
The English cricketer had come out in support of anti-farm law agitation in India by ‘farmer protests. Last year, In a tweet, he said, “What happens if the buyer says the contract cannot be fulfilled because the quality of crop is not what was agreed , what protection does the farmer have then? There is no mention of fixing a price??!! #kissanprotest #kissanektazindabad”
What happens if the buyer says the contract cannot be fulfilled because the quality of crop is not what was agreed , what protection does the farmer have then? There is no mention of fixing a price??!! @BJP4India @narendramodi #kissanprotest #kissanektazindabad pic.twitter.com/E4XD50FcTF
— Monty Panesar (@MontyPanesar) November 28, 2020
The three new revolutionary farm laws will eventually help farmers get rid of the middlemen and sell their produce to whomsoever they want. After the new laws were enacted, ‘farmer leaders’ and Arhatiyas (middlemen) mostly from Punjab and Haryana, had blocked the borders to Delhi demanding the scrapping of the laws.
As reported by TFI, the protests started by few genuine farmers seeking answers to fill the loopholes of farm bill, was later took over by several anti-national forces. From a farmers’ movement to a Khalistani group, it turned into a propaganda promoting separatism. It was the emergence of the Khalistani forces that derailed the momentum of the protests in the first place.
Panesar is trying to seek opportunities in India after denying the offer of playing again. Thus, he fears that any controversy or step against India will cost him the Indian Visa as well as the coaching and commentary career. He is a Khalistani sympathiser aiming at promoting the separatism within the country and thus, India should refrain from the idea of letting him stay in the country.
First give permission to come to India and once here, lock him up citing the offenses he committed. GOI should start thinking wisely.