London, England Former spinner Monty Panesar has tried his luck in the political arena by announcing his candidature in the UK elections representing George Galloway's British Workers Party.
The 42-year-old, who took 167 wickets in 50 Test matches for England with his left-arm spin, will be on the ballot at Ealing Southall.
"I want to be the voice of the workers of this country," Panesar said in a column in 'The Telegraph'.
"My ambition in politics is to one day become Prime Minister, where I will make Britain a safer and stronger nation. But the first job is to represent the people of Ealing Southall."
Galloway, who was returned to the House of Commons in March by winning the Rochdale by-election following the death of the previous sitting Labor MP C Tony Lloyd, confirmed Panesar as a candidate on Tuesday.
"I will be presenting 200 of them outside Parliament this afternoon, including – you'll love this – Monty Panesar, the famous Indian cricketer, the former England international cricketer, who will be our candidate in Southall," he said.
"Of course, Monty was a great left-arm spinner and so we could do that with him."
Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, to Sikh immigrant parents from India, Panesar, whose full name is Mudhusuden Singh Panesar, gained recognition as a cricketer when he was selected for the Nagpur Test in 2006. He was a member of the 2009 Ashes winning team. series and 2012 India series.
Although he never formally announced his retirement, after leaving cricket in 2016 he took a sports journalism course at St Mary's University of London.
The 42-year-old, who took 167 wickets in 50 Test matches for England with his left-arm spin, will be on the ballot at Ealing Southall.
"I want to be the voice of the workers of this country," Panesar said in a column in 'The Telegraph'.
"My ambition in politics is to one day become Prime Minister, where I will make Britain a safer and stronger nation. But the first job is to represent the people of Ealing Southall."
Galloway, who was returned to the House of Commons in March by winning the Rochdale by-election following the death of the previous sitting Labor MP C Tony Lloyd, confirmed Panesar as a candidate on Tuesday.
"I will be presenting 200 of them outside Parliament this afternoon, including – you'll love this – Monty Panesar, the famous Indian cricketer, the former England international cricketer, who will be our candidate in Southall," he said.
"Of course, Monty was a great left-arm spinner and so we could do that with him."
Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, to Sikh immigrant parents from India, Panesar, whose full name is Mudhusuden Singh Panesar, gained recognition as a cricketer when he was selected for the Nagpur Test in 2006. He was a member of the 2009 Ashes winning team. series and 2012 India series.
Although he never formally announced his retirement, after leaving cricket in 2016 he took a sports journalism course at St Mary's University of London.
