Smith took a dig at Panesar's gaffe-riddled 2019 appearance on Celebrity Mastermind.
Australia’s star batter Steve Smith has brutally roasted former England spinner Monty Panesar ahead of the 2025-26 Ashes opener in Perth, starting November 21.
Panesar had urged England players, travelling fans and the British media to keep targeting Smith over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, saying the stand-in Australian skipper should be made to feel "guilty" about replacing Pat Cummins for the first Test.
Notably, the ball-tampering episode led to Smith getting banned from leadership roles for two years but has since worked into being Cummins' deputy.
However, Smith did not let the remarks slide when he addressed the press conference on the eve of the first Ashes Test. He took a dig at Panesar's gaffe-riddled 2019 appearance on Celebrity Mastermind.
"I am going to go off topic here, who in the room has seen Mastermind, and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?" Smith asked, drawing laughter from the room.
"Those of you that have will understand where I am coming from. If you have not, do yourself a favour because it is pretty comical. Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that is a start, or that Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city. It does not really bother me, those comments. That is as far as I will go with that one," he added.
Smith's remarks ensured Panesar’s clip resurfaced once again and quickly began circulating across social media.
The upcoming series against England will be Smith’s ninth and perhaps final Ashes campaign, and the Australian stalwart appeared calm and assured.
"I'm pretty chilled," the 36-year-old told reporters. "I think I've learned a lot over my journey. And yeah, the couple of times that I've stood in for Paddy, I've tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play.
"And, obviously, I've got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I'm a lot more relaxed these days, chilled and let the guys go about their work."