Fit again Varun Aaron has no plans to cut-down pace

Varun Aaron, the 27-year old pacer, who was slated to lead Jharkhand in the 2016-17 Ranji season is all set to make a comeback after a heel injury that kept him out of action for four months, which was initially believed to be a minor one. He captained Jharkhand in the first match against Maharashtra when he first felt pain. However, the duty-bound captain played the next match and bowled 29 overs against Karnataka.

With IPL auctions around the corner, Varun is fit again just in time, having made it to the auction list with a base price of Rs. 30 lakhs. He hopes to perform well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-over domestic tournament. The 10 over spells would give a clear picture of the speedster’s fitness, who burst into the picture by clocking 150+ kmph constantly in the domestic circuit.

When asked about his thoughts on cutting down his pace after the latest injury, the Jharkhand captain seemed quite clear about his plans. Varun was quoted as saying, “I am blessed with a natural ability to bowl fast. Everyone can’t bowl quick. So as far as I am concerned there is no question of compromising on pace. Till the time I am playing cricket, I will be only bowling fast,” ruling out taking the safer option of becoming a disciplined line and length bowler.

Varun was also quick to clear the notion that he frequently gets injured by reminding that the last time he missed a season was back in 2011-12, a solid four years back. He revealed that the grand plan was to wear the Indian cap again and hopes to be back in the mix with overseas tours to New Zealand, South Africa and England coming up. The tearaway pacer was a part of India’s backup list for West Indies and travelled with India A down under, where his performance was praised by coach Rahul Dravid.

Also read- Irfan Pathan and Sean Abbott to be top bids in IPL auction, predicts Matt Dwyer

Varun is highly optimistic about getting back to the Indian dressing room which looks formidable off late even in the pace department. He is hopeful about the new Kumble-Kohli partnership and said “Practically speaking I would like to perform well before Champions Trophy. The communication system in the current Indian team set-up has been brilliant. In my case, I was injured, so there wasn’t much the team management could have told me. But the aim is to play for India again.”

Written by Rameez Mannil