Ollie Robinson Could Be England's X-Factor Against India In The Test Series: Monty Panesar

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has urged the Joe Root-led management to include Ollie Robinson in the playing 11 for the first Test against India as he believes that the tall pacer can prove to be an X-factor.

Ollie Robinson had a brilliant start to his Test career against New Zealand earlier this summer as he claimed a total of seven wickets besides impressing by his ability to seam the ball from a fullish length despite being such a tall figure.

However, his debut was marred with his off-field shenanigans as his past tweets which had a racial and sexist overtone surfaced online.

Following massive outrage, the ECB imposed a suspended eight-match ban on the tall pacer, of which five were suspended for two years.

Robinson has served his remainder of the suspension and he has now been picked in England’s squad for the first couple of Tests.

And, now that he served his punishment, Monty Panesar believes that it is time to move on from the controversy and focus on what the pacer brings to the table.

”I think they should bring him back into the team and that will make the series competitive. He has served his punishment, it was 10 years ago, when he was a teenager. As a teenager, nobody knows what is right and wrong,” said Monty Panesar as quoted by the Daily Mail UK.

‘Ollie Robinson can trouble the Indian batters like Kyle Jamieson did in the WTC final’- Monty Panesar

Alluding to how a tall pacer with a high release in the form of Kyle Jamieson troubled Indian batters during the World Test Championship final, Monty Panesar said that Ollie Robinson could prove to be the visiting batters nemesis in the upcoming Test series.

Jamieson has been a thorn in India’s flesh ever since he made his Test debut in early 2020. The tall pacer, who has the highest release point in the world at the moment, claimed seven wickets in the WTC final, including Indian skipper Virat Kohli in both innings, and was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’.

Robinson, Monty said, has the second-highest release and he can do the same job as Kyle Jamieson in the Test series, starting in Nottingham from August 04.

”They should play Robinson because he is a high arm bowler and his release is the second-highest in world cricket after [New Zealand’s] Kyle Jamieson. The Indian batsmen will struggle with really tall bowlers and, if he plays, that could provide an X-factor that will make the Indian batsmen feel uncomfortable,” said Monty Panesar.

”I was at the World Test Championship final and they couldn’t get Jamieson away. The Indian batsmen average between 30 and 35 but when the bowlers have such a high release point – and Jamieson is about 2.03 metres, with Robinson similar to that – then they’re going to struggle,” he added.

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