"I have always known I could hit 140 kmph, but the 153 kmph delivery did surprise myself a bit" - Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron, the 24-year-old from Jharkhand, along with Vidarbha’s Umesh Yadav, is currently India’s fastest bowler going around in the circuit. The right arm quickie made a comeback to the international circuit, after successfully recovering from a back stress fracture earlier this year, in the One Day International series against New Zealand in New Zealand. What was heartening to see was the speeds that he hit, true to his promise that he will not cut down on his pace, a route that his Indian counterparts have taken in the past.

Ever since he hit the 153 kph mark in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Gujarat in 2011, he has been in demand, making his ODI and Test debuts in the same year. He showcased his ability to run through the batting line-ups in his very first international match, getting rid of the England lower order in no time, uprooting the stumps of Tim Bresnan, Scott Borthwick and Stuart Meaker, who had no answer to his pace.

Reflecting on his rise to the international scene, Aaron, in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, said: “I have always known I could hit 140 kmph, but I did surprise myself a bit with the 153 kmph delivery.”

Raising the expectations of the Indian fans after a promising Indian Premier League season with Delhi Daredevils under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag in 2012, Aaron, however, couldn’t make bigger strides in the last two years, with injuries keeping him in the sidelines.

The fact that the Indian selectors have shown complete faith in him, by getting him into the set-up whenever he has proved his fitness, shows how much he is being rated by the team management. Aaron is in high spirits after being selected for the Indian Test squad that is set to face England in a 5-match Test series.

Being preferred ahead of Umesh to add the speed quotient on decks that will aid fast bowling, Aaron, who has so far played only one Test in his career, has a lot to prove for when he again gets the chance in the longer format. If he could get his radar right, he will prove to be an ideal foil for the swing Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar can extract from the English surface.

When asked about if the flat decks and the bigger bats would have an impact on a youngster choosing to become a pace bowler these days, he said: “In my days, things were different. There was a better balance between bat and ball. Moreover, the passion that I or any other youngster had to become a pacer was much more bigger than these factors to stop us from taking the route. Nowadays, though, yeah, things can be different for an upcoming player who wants to bowl fast, looking at the less supportive decks .”

With the Under-19 cricketers – the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma to name a few - making a quick transition to the national team, Aaron, who was a part of the Jharkand U19 side and an Indian U19 camp later, said that making to the U19 team is one of the primary goals during the early days of his cricketing career. He said: “I had put in a conscious effort to be a part of the age group sides. It is very much on our radar – state sides followed by national age group sides.”

While Indian coaching staff were earlier criticised for the breaking down of young pacers, these days it isn’t just confined to the Indian pacers, but even the Australian, South African pacers like Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Marchant de Lange are experiencing troubles with stress fractures and other injuries that take a toll in the early part of their career.

When asked about how he would look at that, he said: “It is important to understand that injuries are part and parcel of a pacer’s career. During the earlier period, it does have a telling effect, but we have learnt to take it along, and it doesn’t bother much after the 21-24 year mark. The body learns to manage the workload.”