By Kaushik Narayanan
A couple of years ago, Varun Aaron, along with Umesh Yadhav, both from Jharkhand, were considered as India’s answer to long- term persisting problem of no genuine pacers, which India found it hard to find ever since the retirement of Javagal Srinath. Yes, there had been glimpses in Munaf Patel, RP Singh, VRV Singh etc. But , the lack of form and fitness eventually lead to them fading away into the oblivions of domestic cricket.
Though, initially, Umesh Yadav got the break-through, Varun, on the other hand, had been giving some good performances for the selectors to consider him. While constantly bowling above 140, he was not so erratic with his line. Once he bowled a 153 km/hr ball in domestic cricket, which is among the fastest ball bowled by an Indian. Eventually, as the buzz regarding his raw-pace started to spread, he got the much awaited Indian call, against England in 2011. His best ODI figures of 3-24 came against England in his debut match. He played a couple of matches against them, bowled fast, and also took some wickets. He also got his test debut against West Indies in Mumbai, in the match wherein the result was a draw with the scores even at the end of the match.
But, unfortunately, a back injury hindered his meteoritical rise to international cricket, and he had to stay away from the game for a very long period of time. But, it’s good to see that he hasn’t lost any pace after his injury and he’s looking fit as ever.
With Indian pace department really struggling now, this is a good opportunity for Aaron to prove his worth with the ball and cement his place in the team before the big tournaments. With his speed and inexperience at the international level, Aaron will leak runs in the shorter format, but the selectors should persist with him and give him a fair run.
