Pace rookie

[rkt.india]

It's just as well that speed merchants from around the world gathered for the first-ever Formula One blast in India last weekend. In a country where most sporting parallels are drawn from cricket, one robust young lad wouldn't have minded the 'thrilla on the track' to be compared to his own pursuit of express pace on the cricket pitch. Varun Aaron, who just turned 22, is making waves as India's fastest-ever bowler. The Jharkhand speedster has been on the radar of selectors since he clocked a monstrous 153 km/h, comparable with efforts of the fastest bowlers the world over, in a domestic match against Gujarat early this year. Having made millions of fans take notice, and sowed some concern among prospective rival batsmen, Varun has only whetted his appetite as the new pace prospect in Indian cricket after zipping through the England tail on his India debut in the fourth One-day International on a slow Wankhede Stadium pitch two weeks ago. Ever since Kapil Dev made rival batsmen scramble for their helmets over three decades ago, India has steadily warmed up to genuine pace bowlers. Although the likes of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth came through, the absence of a proper fitness management system by the cricket Board has had a telling effect on them. Varun has some distance to travel before he establishes himself but the youngster is clear on one aspect - he wants to bowl fast, and only fast. And he showed his potential to cause damage in Mumbai. More importantly, the express deliveries that crashed into the stumps of the England batsmen were all clocked at 140 km/h plus, with a good measure of reverse swing to boot. "Fast bowlers are not made, they are born," says pace bowling expert TA Sekar. "He is very intelligent, hard-working and grasps things quickly. He is one bowler who always challenges you as a coach, demanding to know why he should change his approach. That was a refreshing difference in him." Sekar, the head of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai and former India paceman, drafted in a 15-year-old Varun, who wanted to do nothing but let it rip. "He is special. Even as a 17-year-old he was consistently clocking over 140 km/h," adds Sekar, who continues to guide him in the Indian Premier League's Delhi Daredevils team. Varun comes from a fairly well-to-do family. As a schoolboy in Jamshedpur, there were other choices for him. He could have taken up hockey; his grandfather played the national game for Bihar. Or basketball, which his mother played at college and state level. But Varun wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a club-level new ball bowler who gave his son the initial encouragement and guidance. Bowling remarkably fast for his age, Varun immediately caught the attention of Jharkhand coaches in the age-group camps. "As a boy, even at the U-14 and U-16 camps, Varun used to bowl really fast. He was not just hard-working, he was intelligent and always nursed big ambitions," says former Jharkhand coach Kajal Das. Although India has produced fast bowlers down the years despite the absence of any culture like say West Indies, Australia or South Africa, many genuine quicks have withered away, turning into medium-pacers after being plagued by injuries, often not sure whom to turn to for corrective steps. Varun was not spared either, having recovered from a stress fracture of the back he suffered two seasons ago. "When we took him in, we advised him to re-model his action to avoid stress injuries. He was still growing and the strain of bowling fast resulted in the back injury," says Sekar. Varun, at around 5ft 10in, is not tall for a fast bowler but his raw pace helps the ball skid off the pitch. "(South Africa's) Dale Steyn is also not very tall but he is so effective. Height is not everything. It is the body balance that counts," adds Sekar. The youngster was also taught a lesson on temperament after he failed to get a look-in during the England tour. When he finally got a break in Mumbai, Jharkhand senior Dhoni was at hand, talking to him after every wicket. "Varun told me Dhoni was advising him to mix pace with reverse swing," Kajal Das reveals. That will be the perfect recipe to ruffle the feathers of batsmen in the future. The opportunity will almost certainly come during the home series against West Indies as Indian selectors try out fresh faces with the tour of Australia, starting at the end of the year, looming large. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cricket/CricketFeatures/Pace-rookie/Article1-765363.aspx

[Cricket Tragic]

[rkt.india]

[Malcolm Merlyn]

So he was 140ks at 17 years.......so according to the logic of a few ICFers he should be 160ks now. he is quick....and i expect him to be 140-150ks...with a bit of reverse.

[Tiger80]

So he was 140ks at 17 years.......so according to the logic of a few ICFers he should be 160ks now. he is quick....and i expect him to be 140-150ks...with a bit of reverse.

Age in South asian countries of players which are from smaller states can't be trusted unless MRF pace academy do some scientific checking O/W when he was bowling 140 bowls at 17 year of age then he could have been around 20

[Dravid_TheWall]

Malinga was bowling 135k at 16 according to his first coach. Hmm. Either way, Varun looks a good ODI prospect to me, he showed he can bowl good line and length earlier on than reverse. So he should take wickets and keep things tight, be a good death bowler for us I hope.

[rkt.india]

So he was 140ks at 17 years.......so according to the logic of a few ICFers he should be 160ks now. he is quick....and i expect him to be 140-150ks...with a bit of reverse.

He has already touched over 150K that is good for any 21 year old. IMO, this pace is good with good direction.

[Trichromatic]

Age in South asian countries of players which are from smaller states can't be trusted unless MRF pace academy do some scientific checking O/W when he was bowling 140 bowls at 17 year of age then he could have been around 20

His age is correct. If his age is 3 years more then he must have started schooling very late (at age of 7).

[rkt.india]

His age is correct. If his age is 3 years more then he must have started schooling very late (at age of 7).

Yes...he was in 12th at 17 years of age when I had first read about him back in 2006.

[Tiger80]

His age is correct. If his age is 3 years more then he must have started schooling very late (at age of 7).

Is there any mention about when he started schooling?. .many in small towns ,villages start schooling late or even drop a year or two.I am sorry but schools in India are the most unreliable source of age.Also when in India almost 90% of cricketers are faking age then why Varun will not do that? I am sure coaches themselves will ask their brilliant cricketers to get fake age certificates as it will make their way much easy.

[Trichromatic]

Is there any mention about when he started schooling?. .many in small towns ' date='villages start schooling late or even drop a year or two.I am sorry but schools in India are the most unreliable source of age.Also when in India almost 90% of cricketers are faking age then why Varun will not do that? I am sure coaches themselves will ask their brilliant cricketers to get fake age certificates as it will make their way much easy.[/quote'] He lived in Jamshedpur which is not a village. I know that people reduce their age. My point is that if he had reduced the age, then it would have been 19 or 20 now and not 22. Many of my college friends studied with him in school. 22-23 is standard age for those who passed class 12th exam in 2006 or 2007.

[rkt.india]

Is there any mention about when he started schooling?. .many in small towns ' date='villages start schooling late or even drop a year or two.I am sorry but schools in India are the most unreliable source of age.Also when in India almost 90% of cricketers are faking age then why Varun will not do that? I am sure coaches themselves will ask their brilliant cricketers to get fake age certificates as it will make their way much easy.[/quote'] But he is not a small town or village boy. He comes from a reputed and well educated family. He studied in the best school in Jamshedpur that is Loyola school. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070901/asp/jharkhand/story_8262513.asp

[Tiger80]

He lived in Jamshedpur which is not a village. I know that people reduce their age. My point is that if he had reduced the age' date=' then it would have been 19 or 20 now and not 22. Many of my college friends studied with him in school. 22-23 is standard age for those who passed class 12th exam in 2006 or 2007.[/quote'] Well if you have friends who studied with him then you know better.

[Rightarmfast]

Is there any mention about when he started schooling?. .many in small towns ' date='villages start schooling late or even drop a year or two.I am sorry but schools in India are the most unreliable source of age.Also when in India almost 90% of cricketers are faking age then why Varun will not do that? I am sure coaches themselves will ask their brilliant cricketers to get fake age certificates as it will make their way much easy.[/quote'] Jamshedpur is almost as good a city as Bangalore, dude ! Its not a village ! And he looks his age, he doesnt look 24-25 !

[deathmonger]

you can see from his english speaking abilities that he's not feom some village.

[Malcolm Merlyn]

He has already touched over 150K that is good for any 21 year old. IMO' date=' this pace is good with good direction.[/quote'] He is 22........and he has touched 150k........but your logic that pace increases with age(regarding rahul sharma) Aaron should be doing 160ks now.

[rkt.india]

He is 22........and he has touched 150k........but your logic that pace increases with age(regarding rahul shukla) Aaron should be doing 160ks now.

Bhai yes..pace increases with age..I can give you plenty of examples only point is bowler must have fast bowling prowess first up. Even Lee and Akhtar increased their pace since they debuted and by the time they reached at their peak age of 26-27. Even Dale Steyn increased 5-10ks of pace. When I first saw Steyn 5 years ago in Afro-Asian match he used to stay in high 130s to low 140s, but now he can easily bowl 150K whenever he puts effort. Even in first test he bowled up to 149K. My argument about Rahul Shukla is that he did not have any proper cricket or fitness training before and still at the age of 17, he bowled 131k while Aaron had already developed quite a lot by the time he was 17 as he was training at MRF since he was 15. I am not saying 100% but Aaron might touch 155+ by the time he is 25-26 if he had a better bowling action and run up, but after he made some changes in it, his bowling action is not free flowing right now to let him put more effort and bowl that fast and if with this action he can bowl near 150k, he must have some thing special in him according to me.

[MCcricket]

Bhai yes..pace increases with age..I can give you plenty of examples only point is bowler must have fast bowling prowess first up. Even Lee and Akhtar increased their pace since they debuted and by the time they reached at their peak age of 26-27. Even Dale Steyn increased 5-10ks of pace. When I first saw Steyn 5 years ago in Afro-Asian match he used to stay in high 130s to low 140s, but now he can easily bowl 150K whenever he puts effort. Even in first test he bowled up to 149K. My argument about Rahul Shukla is that he did not have any proper cricket or fitness training before and still at the age of 17, he bowled 131k while Aaron had already developed quite a lot by the time he was 17 as he was training at MRF since he was 15. I am not saying 100% but Aaron might touch 155+ by the time he is 25-26 if he had a better bowling action and run up, but after he made some changes in it, his bowling action is not free flowing right now to let him put more effort and bowl that fast and if with this action he can bowl near 150k, he must have some thing special in him according to me.

Have u seen him bowl , his action,I think he was sent to Australia also to get his action and body evaluated earlier.Do u think he might be faster then Varun like a 155 k bowler wow.

[Tiger80]

Bhai yes..pace increases with age..I can give you plenty of examples only point is bowler must have fast bowling prowess first up. Even Lee and Akhtar increased their pace since they debuted and by the time they reached at their peak age of 26-27. Even Dale Steyn increased 5-10ks of pace. When I first saw Steyn 5 years ago in Afro-Asian match he used to stay in high 130s to low 140s, but now he can easily bowl 150K whenever he puts effort. Even in first test he bowled up to 149K. My argument about Rahul Shukla is that he did not have any proper cricket or fitness training before and still at the age of 17, he bowled 131k while Aaron had already developed quite a lot by the time he was 17 as he was training at MRF since he was 15. I am not saying 100% but Aaron might touch 155+ by the time he is 25-26 if he had a better bowling action and run up, but after he made some changes in it, his bowling action is not free flowing right now to let him put more effort and bowl that fast and if with this action he can bowl near 150k, he must have some thing special in him according to me.

I think one of the key element people forget here is that growth differs in Human beings .Some grow very quickly ,some have normal growth while few have late growth .The one that grow's quickly may find it difficult to increase his pace but for a late grower ,it is possible to increase

[rkt.india]

Have u seen him bowl ' date=' his action,I think he was sent to Australia also to get his action and body evaluated earlier.Do u think he might be faster then Varun like a 155 k bowler wow.[/quote'] I have not seen him, but heard about him through Maninder Singh who saw him with Mumbai Indians as well one of ICF poster ShebbySB has seen him at Eden Gardens where He found Rahul Shukla to be faster than Aaron.