[2] When first selected for England he was widely perceived as being a particularly inept batsman and fielder, which resulted in much ironic cheering;[3] the TMS commentator Henry Blofeld once accidentally referred to him as Monty Python.

[4] Panesar lost his place in the England Test team, being replaced by Graeme Swann and losing his central contract.

[9] Panesar also played in 3 Test matches in India in 2012, before deputising for the injured Graeme Swann as lead spinner in the England tour of New Zealand, where he managed just 5 wickets costing 70 runs each.

[9] However, he has had significant batting performances: he scored a quick-fire 26 against Sri Lanka including a six off Murali in 2006, and in the Ashes First Test in 2009, he and James Anderson stayed in for 40 minutes, jointly surviving 69 balls to secure an important draw.

He will then bowl through most of the net session, before staying out long after most of the guys are back in the comfort of the dressing room, working on his batting, learning new shots, and perfecting those he already has.

While playing with a sore shoulder, he had developed a habit of using his foot to stop balls in the field and then underarm-throwing them back to the wicketkeeper.

[28] After graduating, he became a more important member of the team and had a fine season in 2005, taking 51 County Championship wickets at an average of just 22.47 including career-best figures of 7–181 against Essex.

[37] In August 2019, Panesar revealed that he was in talks with the Indian domestic team Puducherry, with a view to play in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy.

[39] In December 2023, East Anglian Premier Cricket League side Great Witchingham announced that it had signed Panesar for the 2024 season.

[41][42][43] For a place as back-up spinner to incumbent Ashley Giles he faced competition from left-armer Ian Blackwell and off-spinners Shaun Udal and Alex Loudon.

It was suggested that his reputation for poor batting and fielding might hamper his chances of selection, but earlier in 2005 he had attended the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide in order to address these issues.

[48] He followed this up with an innings of 26 from 28 balls that included a swept six, adding 37 for the final wicket with Liam Plunkett, although Sri Lanka won the Test by 134 runs.

[51] Despite his performances in the Test arena against Pakistan in the summer of 2006, Panesar was overlooked for the 30-man ODI squad for the 2006 ICC Champion's Trophy in India.

The likelihood of Panesar playing against Australia in the 2006–07 Ashes series led to media commentary by some Australian players, who indicated that they would take an aggressive approach towards him.

Panesar was left out of the England team for the first two Tests of the series, which led to a petition being started by BBC Radio Five Live, calling out for his inclusion.

[9] He was the joint third highest wicket taker for England behind Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff, tying with Steve Harmison, having only played in three out of the five Tests.

His attacking style, bowling economically and aggressively in equal parts, resulted in him taking nine wickets and conceding 4.60 runs per over.

[9] Following his performances in the Ashes and Commonwealth Bank series Panesar was selected in England's World Cup squad.

There was speculation that Swann would challenge Panesar for the Test place or at least play alongside him on the back of his strong performances in the first four ODIs.

Once again Panesar was selected for the entire Test series and in the second match at Old Trafford he achieved his best single innings figures to date of 6/37, including the captain Daniel Vettori.

Despite recording his best ever innings figures in the second Test, Panesar was once again omitted from the 20/20 and ODI teams in favour of the spinner Graeme Swann.

Panesar, along with Swann, was selected for the first Test of the 2009 Ashes series, held at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, as England opted to utilise two spinners.

[9] After strong performances for his county Sussex, Panesar was announced as part of the England squad to tour Australia for the Ashes on 23 September 2010.

[29] He was picked to play in the first Test but performed averagely only taking 2 wickets in the match, and also dropping Mahela Jayawardene twice in twenty minutes.

After the match, coach Andy Flower and captain Alastair Cook both said they had misjudged the pitch, and changes were made to the team ahead of the second Test.

Panesar was the leading spinner of the Test part of the tour as Graeme Swann had to pull out requiring surgery on a recurring elbow injury.

[25][66][67] Having admitted that he had broken the Sikh vow not to drink alcohol, combined with his poor form, the incident contributed to his leaving Sussex and being loaned to Essex.

[34] After he rejoined Northamptonshire in 2016, Panesar opened up about the mental illness that he had been suffering, speaking in the media about his acceptance to use medication to help him cope with feelings of paranoia and anxiety that came after a loss of confidence.

[71] After his retirement from cricket, Panesar studied Sports Journalism at St. Mary's University London, where he learnt the trade from Neil Kingston.

[39] In April 2024, Panesar announced his intention to stand for election as the next MP for Ealing Southall in the next UK General Election, as a candidate from the Workers Party of Britain, led by George Galloway: “When I played for England there was so much support from the fans and the whole nation when they put me where I am today, it’s my turn now to actually help the working-class people, whatever problems they have,” he remarked upon announcing his candidacy, “the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger.”[72][73] He withdrew his candidacy a week later.