Never thought that I wouldn't be picked in the IPL 2018 auction: Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron

Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron talks about his upcoming stint with Leicestershire, the injuries he has copped over the years, his supersonic pace and disappointment at not being picked in the IPL 2018 auction in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda. Excerpts:

You played your last ODI and Test in 2015. What went wrong after that?

A: When South Africa were in India, I played the first two matches. We were playing on rank turners. I was the only fast bowler to pick up some wickets in the entire series. Then I did not play the Nagpur Test and the last Test as well and after that, I was dropped. After that, I went to Australia with the ‘A’ side. I picked up around 7 wickets in a game-and-a-half. Despite that, I was never picked for Duleep Trophy or Irani Trophy or Deodhar Trophy. That was really surprising.

Whenever I have had an opportunity to stake a claim, I have done my best. But I haven’t received too many chances of late. I definitely could have had a better Ranji season last year with Jharkhand.

You have sustained serious injuries at critical junctures..

Injuries have definitely hampered my career. Without any injuries, I would have been in a different place altogether. But injuries have taught me a lot too. Unfortunately, I suffered from injuries that were not related to my fitness, like stress fractures and bony injuries. Not much you can do about those.

You can train to strengthen the muscle, but bony injuries you don’t really have any control over. Now I have learned how and when to push myself and when to hold back, how much to train and when to train.

Have injuries dampened your pace?

Not at all. For the past two IPLs, I was the fastest Indian bowler. Only Kagiso Rabada was faster than me in the last two editions. A couple of months ago we had a game against Punjab and I was bowling at 148 kmph. I’ve been bowling as fast as I have always.

How did your county stint come about?

The first thing I did after not getting picked for IPL was to get an agent in England and let counties know I was fit and interested. We got to know that Leicester had lost one of their fast bowlers to injury and they were considering me as their first-choice replacement. Since I’ll be getting there in the first half of the season, I’ll get to play a lot of county games.

Was it a shock to go unsold at the IPL 2018 auction?

It was pretty shocking. I had a good year with Kings XI Punjab last year. I never thought that I wouldn't be picked for the auction. I was thinking more like – ‘which team would pick me’. At the end of the day, I felt that I had put I so much hard work and something like this has happened, so it must be for a reason. I decided to reflect on it and play cricket over the next few months for myself. I’m still bowling at 60% of what I’m capable of.

You were touted as India’s big pace sensation in 2011. Now all pacers are bowling over 140 kmph. Your take on that welcome change?

It’s really good for Indian cricket that most of our pacers are bowling quick now. It’s an exciting time. I started out really well, but then I had a really serious back injury. When I was selected to tour Australia 2011-12, I suffered from a stress fracture. Then I played the IPL – I should not have played that. After that, it took me over 20 months to recover.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m just 28 and the understanding I have of my body and my bowling is the best it’s ever been. At the moment, the guys in the team are enjoying a good run. I’m happy for them. My time will come too.

Your favourite current Indian fast bowler?

All of them - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah - are my friends. It’s hard to pick one. All of them are very different bowlers. I don’t have a favourite among them and you can’t really compare them. They all deserve to play for the country.