Cricket: England Give Panesar the Nod to Replace Injured Giles in India

Monty Panesar will be named today as England's final player for next month's Test series in India as hope is abandoned that Ashley Giles will recover from his hip operation before the start of next season.

For spin-bowling romantics, there will be a sense of excitement that the Luton-born 23-year-old Northamptonshire's left-arm spinner, a bowler of burgeoning artistry, could become the first Sikh to play for England in the land of his forefathers. But that will tempered by gathering unease about the fitness of Giles, who for years has provided a practical answer to England's spin-bowling shortcomings, and whose slower-than-expected recovery from the hip surgery that last month curtailed his tour of Pakistan is increasing cause for concern.

Ian Blackwell, who substituted for Giles in the one-day series in Pakistan, will also replace him during the seven limited-overs internationals in India, and will also be on stand-by for the Test series, but it is Panesar who has won the selectors' favour after intensive debate.

The choice is not in keeping with the pragmatism of the coach Duncan Fletcher, who must have been tempted by the batting insurance that Blackwell could provide, but the presence of two former spin bowlers on the selection panel, in the chairman David Graveney and Geoff Miller, may have tipped the balance in Panesar's favour.

Panesar has had much to prove to break into the England squad - and he has responded. His 46 championship wickets at 21.54 for Northamptonshire last season provided proof of his development - critics carped that it always turns at Northampton, where he claimed 31 of his victims, but at least that gave him the chance to develop his craft, which can be said about few young English spinners.

He found a Sikh guru - he calls him The Master - who he follows devoutly and who instructed him to commit his talents to cricket. His potential as a spin bowler was undeniable, but his considerable limitations in terms of fitness, fielding and batting were threatening to make him a liability. He went to the South Australian academy in Adelaide before Christmas, under the tutelage of Darren Lehmann, and not only kept up with the South Australian junior players in running trials but outstripped them. He came back to Loughborough and stood up unflinchingly to bouncers from a bowling machine. His fielding is even rumoured to have improved a bit. The selectors have clearly decided that he has responded as well as could be expected.

Spin bowling in India is a demanding business. Indian batsmen are skilled against slow bowling and England's selectors have hoped that his slightly back-of-a-length style will enhance his chances of survival.

On England's last tour of India, Robert Croft pulled out for safety reasons - fearing repercussions from the invasion of Afghanistan - and England were left with Gloucestershire's Martyn Ball and the immensely raw Yorkshireman Richard Dawson. This time they have experience in the shape of Shaun Udal and potential in the case of Panesar. Fletcher will understandably bemoan the absence of Giles, and Udal will doubtless start the first Test in Nagpur, but by the time the third Test comes around in Mumbai, it may be Panesar's turn.