It is a different feeling – especially for those of us who had watched Gavaskar & Solkar opening the bowling attack or Madanlal / Karsan Ghavri bowling 3 or 4 overs before Bedi took over – the ball would be rolled out from thirdman to make it lose shine !! (the spin quartet could consistently wrap the opponents below 200 is another aspect !)
Remember a player by name Stuart Meaker and his ODI debut in India !! he was considered among the most exciting quick-bowling prospects in the land, a skiddy bowler blessed with authentic pace comfortably above 90mph. At Wankhede in Oct 2011, he made his debut in a match which India won by 6 wickets.
There have been exciting pace bowling prospects - Kapil Dev was the crowning glory ~ there were talks that Yograj Singh and Thirumalai Ananthanpillai Sekhar were much faster ! ~ when Umesh Yadav took 10 wickets in a home test, thoughts meandered to the way, India handled new ball – in 1970s – when the spin quartet dominated. There were times when we read about camps before Overseas tours, when Barun Burman, Jyoti Prasad .. .. came close to selection and a young lad Kapil Dev was denied extra rotis, stating that there are no pace bowlers in India. Life has changed .. .. remember that in Chennai 1st division league there were young lads bowling fast – not only locals like Rajamannar, Bharathkumar, Arunkumar, Kalyanasundaram, TA Sekhar, Arun – but from MRF - Vivek Razdan, Subroto Banerjee and Ashish Winston Zaidi.
1980s was the tale of pace battery of West Indies – they kept coming – fearsome Holder, Roberts, Holding, Daniel, Crofts, Garner, Marshall, Bishop, Ambrose, Patterson, Walsh .. .. all could hurtle at great pace and make the ball climb awkwardly not only from a short length but at times coil it up from close to good length, making the life miserable for batsmen.
At the start of 2010, there was talk of a young genuine tearaway clocking over 150 kmph in Vijay Hazare trophy – the name Varun Aaron. But bowling fast came with its pitfalls, and in a career blighted by injuries - stress fractures of the back, in the main - Aaron played nine Tests and nine ODIs, but the last of those was way back in November 2015, a Test against South Africa in Bengaluru, where he picked up one wicket in a match that lost four days to the weather. Hailing from Jharkhand, Aaron has been part of the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai since he was spotted by a talent scout at the age of 15.
Varun Aaron, the former India quick bowler, has announced his retirement from "representative cricket". Aaron, 35, had retired from red-ball cricket at the end of the 2023-24 Indian domestic season, and has now finished up altogether after his team, Jharkhand, were knocked out of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, in which he played four games and picked up three wickets at an average of 53.33.
"For the past 20 years, I have lived, breathed, and thrived on the rush of bowling fast. Today, with immense gratitude, I officially announce my retirement from representative cricket," Aaron wrote on Instagram. "As I bid farewell to a pursuit that has consumed me completely, I now look forward to savoring the smaller joys in life while staying deeply connected to the game that has given me everything. Fast Bowling has been my first love, and though I step off the field, it will always be a part of who I am."
He finishes up with
88 List A matches, in which he got 141 wickets at an average of 26.47 and
economy rate of 5.44, and 95 T20s, where he has 93 wickets at an economy rate
of 8.53. Aaron played nine seasons of the IPL between 2011 and 2022 - with
Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals,
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans - and won the title with Titans
in what was his final season in the competition. His own contribution in it
was, however, modest, as he picked up two wickets in two games, and had an
economy rate of 10.40.
In that ODI match at Wankhede on 23.10.2011, India won – alongside Stuart Meaker, Varun Aaron made his debut. It was an unusual bowling combination of Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Varun Aaron, Ashwin, Kohli & Raina. While Meaker fizzled out playing in just 4 (2+2) International appearances, Aaron played 9 Tests and 9 ODIs.
It is
tough being a pace bowler in India, sad that Varun Aaron never got that place
on top where he promised to be !!
Regards – S Sampathkumar
10.1.2025
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