Masterclass puts Varun into his stride

January 19, 2017 08:25 pm | Updated January 20, 2017 01:46 am IST

Chennai: Learning from the masters can be rewarding.

Returning to the game after a bruised heel sidelined him for nearly three months, Varun Aaron narrated a nugget.

The fast bowler has been at the MRF Pace Foundation here only briefly but has already discovered the value of technical inputs from Australian pace bowling legend Glenn McGrath.

Aaron told The Hindu here on Thursday, “McGrath sir saw me bowl and immediately told me that I was rather stiff in my strides. He asked me to lift my legs a little more while running. Small things can make a big difference and I am now getting into my delivery stride more smoothly.”

The paceman, finding his rhythm, was powering through to the crease, gaining momentum and thrust.

“I have no doubt in my mind that I will play for India again,” said the 27-year-old cricketer from Jharkhand.

Aaron said, “I am fit again and ready to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament. The last three months have been difficult because a heel bruise is a freak injury.”

Someone who bowls in the high 140-kmph speeds — he has crossed the 153 mark — Aaron is an attacking paceman who gets the batsmen to duck and weave.

He did bowl with pace and bounce when India toured Australia for the Test series in 2014-15. When he was dropped for the third Test, many former Aussie cricketers were surprised.

They said the Aussie batsmen had confessed to them that Aaron was the Indian paceman who had troubled them the most, got them out of their comfort zone.

Figures don’t reflect the intensity of Aaron’s bowling down under.

He recalled, “In the first Test in Adelaide, I clean bowled David Warner but it was off a no-ball. Soon after that I had him caught down the leg-side but umpire ruled ‘not out.’ It was a clear nick.”

He created opportunities but many of them were not taken. “In Brisbane in the second Test, I got Steve Smith to edge one when Australia was under pressure in the second innings. But the catch was floored. Things could have been different.”

He played the first few Ranji games this season before missing Jharkhand’s stirring progress to the semifinals. “It pained me greatly to sit out when Jharkhand was doing so well,” Aaron said.

At the MRF Pace Foundation, Aaron has been working to get his body into the best possible shape.

“I have been doing yoga routines with K. Gopinath sir and it has been very helpful,” he said.

India captain Virat Kohli, admiring Aaron’s aggression, has often backed him. “I know that. I now have to win matches for the country and captain Kohli,” he said.

Aaron has displayed the mental strength to overcome periods of frustration brought about by fitness concerns. It’s now time for him to fire.

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