Monty Panesar has come to the aid of Michael Vaughan, who is trying to save his broadcasting career after being dropped by the BBC following his alleged racist remarks in the past.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Panesar, a left-arm spinner who was in and out of the England side between 2006 and 2013, declared: “I have already said that I absolutely do not believe Michael Vaughan is racist. He was my captain when I played for England and I only experienced positive things with him.

“When I first attended an England training session, Vaughan told the media and fellow colleagues, ‘Monty is a breath of fresh air in this England dressing room.’

“He enjoyed how I approached the game, and celebrated wickets — in fact, he actively wanted me to do it. My energy and passion for playing for England resonated with him.

“He always got the best out of me and several other cricketers from different backgrounds, and would make the point that he only ever wanted the best possible England team, regardless of race or religion.

“That’s not to say he wasn’t interested in my background — he was, but only in a positive way. He was keen to know about my Sikh beliefs and how they had shaped my values and upbringing.

“I remember him saying he needed to know about all religions because it would make him a better leader of men — it typified how his leadership skills and thinking were ahead of his time. On another occasion, I recall him saying, ‘it gets boring if we are all the same’, and that different cultures would make for a stronger dressing room.”

Mudhsuden Singh Panesar was born on April 25, 1982, in Luton but adopted the name “Monty” to make it easier for English people to pronounce his first name.

When he made his debut for England against India in Nagpur in 2006, his first wicket was that of his hero — Sachin Tendulkar.

Panesar was himself the butt of jokes from commentators. Henry Blofeld once referred to him as “Monty Python” after the comic figure from television.

Panesar has had a troubled past but his defence of Vaughan has recently made him a much sought after figure from sections of the media not entirely sympathetic to Azeem Rafiq, the whistleblower in the racism scandal.

The Pakistani origin cricketer alleged Vaughan had said that there were “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” to him and three other players during a match for Yorkshire in 2009.

Vaughan has denied making the remark but has been embarrassed by a couple of tweets. In one in 2010, Vaughan said, “Not many English people live in London… I need to learn a new language.”

Vaughan now says he regrets those tweets.

Vaughan said: “I apologise deeply to anyone that I’ve offended with those tweets. Times have moved on and I regret those tweets. We all make mistakes and in my life I’ve made quite a few mistakes on Twitter, I apologise for that.”

In an extended interview with the BBC, Vaughan said: “I was a Yorkshire player for 18 years. I was the first player to sign for that club who was not born in the county. So we have gone 18 years from me being the first to sign for the club to Sachin Tendulkar from being the first overseas player (in 1992) to players being able to sign from other clubs. It was my last few games.

“I remember it clearly that I was proud as punch that we had four Asian players representing Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The important aspect of a dressing room is culture, and it had to be inclusive.”