England have had a long-standing issue with spin in Test match cricket dating back to Graeme Swann's retirement midway through the 2013-14 Ashes series.
Moeen Ali did an admirable job as Swann's initial long-term replacement, taking 195 wickets at 36.66 before retiring last summer. However, he was predominantly a batting all-rounder when he debuted and was selected after scoring 1375 runs for Worcestershire in the 2013 County Championship.
Aside from Moeen, who played a total of 64 Test matches before retiring from the format last year, Jack Leach has been England's most capped spinner since Swann. The 30-year-old has played 22 Tests and picked up 79 wickets at 31.88.
However, Leach has been in and out of the side and never really seemed to have the full backing of his captain and coach. Ahead of a busy summer of Test cricket, former England spinner Monty Panesar has named eight players who will be looking to impress the England selectors.
Callum Parkinson picked up more wickets than any other spinner in last year's edition of the competition, taking 50 for Leicestershire, and Panesar has been impressed with how he has "grown into the role of being their premier red-ball spinner". Matt Critchley has also impressed Panesar and the all-rounder is set for a new challenge this year, having moved from Derbyshire to Essex. "An exciting talent, albeit one who lacks the consistency to pose a real threat in red-ball cricket at the moment," Panesar wrote for the Telegraph.
Surrey duo Amar Virdi and Dan Moriarty are also on Panesar's watchlist. "Daniel was originally from MCC ground staff but he has excelled since joining Surrey and is a good partner for Amar Virdi," Panesar added.
"During my days with England, bowling with Graeme Swann helped me perform better and you can see something similar here: sometimes competition can be healthy. It would be interesting to see how they perform this year with homegrown spinners and not relying on guys from overseas."
17-year-old Rehan Ahmed starred for England at the recent Under-19 World Cup and Panesar is tipping him to have "a big summer". He wrote: "Ahmed could just provide the impact the county game needs, given how wonderfully he performed at the Under-19 World Cup. He is an exciting talent with match-winning ability, so this could be a big summer for him."
Middlesex prospect Thilan Walallwita was recently granted British citizenship having and now no longer has to play as an overseas player. As a result, the 23-year-old looks set for more opportunities this summer and Panesar is "a big fan".
"He was a graduate of the Middlesex Academy and the club's leading wicket-taker in 2019 for second-team cricket," he added. "I am a big fan of his bowling, having seen him in action in the County Championship and Royal London Cup, and given the faith invested in him by the county I would not be surprised to see him given a run of games."
The final two names on Panesar's watchlist are Nottinghamshire duo Liam Patterson-White and Fateh Singh. Patterson-White was a regular last season, taking 24 wickets at 31.20, while Singh has only made a handful of appearances.
Panesar has compared Patterson-White to Leach and suggested England 'may look at him this summer', while Singh is more of a long-term prospect. "My encounter with him was at Trent Bridge and, watching him bowl, I thought he had lovely, rhythmical action," Panesar wrote.
"He has done well for England Under-19s but playing the first team would be a major step up. It is definitely worth monitoring his progress over the summer."
