Varun Aaron takes to County stint for India comeback

Varun burst onto the scenes in 2011 with his pace.

pic credit AP

Varun Aaron was in the news recently, when he couldn't find a place in any of the eight franchises for the 2018 Indian Premier League season he took the offer presented by the county championship side Leicestershire for a stint this year. India is about to embark on a full tour of England where they play a five-match test series. 

The out of favour speedster Varun Aaron last played for India in 2016. He first burst onto the scenes in 2011 when he was picked owing to being the exception amongst Indian Cricket's line & length medium-fast swing bowlers. Unfortunately, the injuries have hampered the bright fast bowling prospect, Varun has always expressed a willingness to not change ways from bowling fast and preserve himself. He has always wanted to just bowl fast. 

Aaron recently talked about the current narrative in his career to Reuters in a telephone interview. He started out with him being out of the IPL season, "I was not really thinking about whether I'd be picked or not in the IPL auction, It was more a case of which team is going to pick me. But when it didn't happen, it was a shocker for sure,"

"But it took me a few minutes to snap out of it. For the amount of hard work I have put in, for all that I have come through, I feel there are bigger things in store.When we talk after six months, then I can tell you that it's the best thing to have happened to me. I really feel this might be the turning point,"

Varun also thinks that his performance in the county championship can help in earning back the confidence of the selectors and the team management back. He said, "At the same time, I can only play for the India team if I do well for Leicestershire. I'm really looking forward to making an impact with Leicestershire.I can still do big things. In the coming years, I definitely want to win matches for India abroad."

Aaron also pointed how the unfortunate injuries haven't helped his case and reiterated the fact that he is still young and can contribute to Indian Cricket on the field. "What I've lacked all these years is that I have not played cricket consistently, You evolve as a bowler only if you play games and bowl those overs. I can finally see that ease in my bowling and my body is now responding to my mind.I really feel this is the way forward. I really don't just want to run the race, I want to be the best at it. That's why even after so many injuries, I have not reduced my pace, I have not changed my work ethic. I still keep at it."

"A lot of the great bowlers in the world have peaked after 27, be it Dennis Lillee, Dale Steyn, or (James) Anderson, I think 27-28 is when you really understand your body and your bowling as a fast bowler. I feel 28 is the ideal age to bowl at your best. I'm really excited for the days ahead. Competition never bothered me. I know I'm unique and if I'm bowling at my best, I will get picked to play for the country."

"Back in 2013-14, it was a very settled unit. Zak (Zaheer Khan) was playing, Ishant (Sharma) was playing, Umesh (Yadav) was playing, and there was Praveen Kumar too. And I still got into the team." 

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 11 Apr, 2018

    Share Via