Out of top-tier cricket for a long time, Monty Panesar is eyeing a comeback in this season’s Ranji Trophy.

The left-arm spinner, who played 50 Tests and 26 ODIs for England along with one T20I, hopes to play for Puducherry as he is “still working hard” to enrol his name in a County side.

“I am still trying to play professional cricket, but I have not found a County (team) yet. I am still working hard to find a County.

“I may try and play Ranji Trophy this year. I think there is one team — Puducherry — that allows overseas players to play,” Panesar told The Telegraph from the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

Puducherry, as of now, have selected three outstation players for this season — Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Aarun Karthik and Paras Dogra. Asked about the possibility of Panesar’s inclusion in the squad, a team official said: “Three outstation players have been finalised. But there’s no clue regarding Monty’s inclusion.”

West Indies legend Alvin Kallicharan will be the mentor of the team when the season gets underway, while D. Rohit is scheduled to lead the side.

Panesar, meanwhile, hailed the diversity in the current England team, which he believes, is one of the reasons for its recent successes.

“The spinners have played an important role in England’s World Cup win. There’s certainly an amazing diversity in this English side… You’ve got an Irishman, players of New Zealand and Pakistani origins, and it shows that a team with such diversity can really be strong,” he said.