Legendary cricketer and considered the ‘God of Cricket’ has been an inspiration for millions of people, keeping their dreams alive for them.
In his 25-year-long career, Sachin has shared the field with cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharna, Virat Kohli, and more.
Be it Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, all of them made their India debut when Tendulkar was at his peak. However, few of them lost the momentum.
One of them is speedster Varun Aaron, who recently announced his retirement from red-ball cricket after the end of Jharkhand’s Ranji Trophy 2023/24 campaign.
ALSO READ: James Anderson becomes 1st pacer and 3rd bowler to take 700 test wickets, Sachin Tendulkar calls it ‘simply magnificent’
Aaron first grabbed headlines in 2008 for his raw pace, but couldn’t play for India as much as he would have loved to.
Remembering one of the instances, Aaron ended up picking three wickets during his Test debut for India against West Indies in November of 2011, after speaking with Sachin Tendulkar.
“We were playing at the Wankhede Stadium. It was a really flat wicket, and the West Indies were 500 something for four. And I was really down. I was 21 years old and had never bowled 21 overs without a wicket. Sachin Tendulkar was standing at mid-off, he looked at me and asked, ‘why are you looking so down?’ I was like, you know what, Paaji, I’ve never bowled 21 overs for no wickets. I can’t believe this is happening on my debut. He’s like, come here. We stopped mid-over and he said, ‘Do you know I waited 22 years for my first World Cup Trophy? So you can wait 21 overs for your first wicket, there’s no problem with that. Please come down to earth and get bowling,” Hindustan Times quoted Aaron as saying in an interview with the BCCI.
Tendulkar’s advice lit a bulb in Aaron:
“I was like, Man, seriously, that makes so much sense. The very next ball, I got Darren Bravo (166) out, caught behind. Then got two other wickets – Carlton Baugh and Daren Sammy. And that just changed my debut. Just a few words from Sachin Tendulkar. I had also induced an edge off Marlon Samuels, but it was dropped,” Aaron added.
“I was bowling flat out, gas out in my 26th over. If I had gotten that wicket, you never know, I would’ve gotten one more over from MS Dhoni and maybe a fifer as well. It was just a great spell inspired by the great Sachin Tendulkar. And it just shows you that these very small things can actually change careers, change a debut for somebody.”
However, injuries cut short Aaron’s impressive career for India. He played 9 Tests and 9 ODIs between 2011 and 2015 before falling behind in the pecking order. He was set to feature for India in the 2011-12 tour of Australia, but the recurrence of the back stress fracture sidelined him for over a year.
After his recovery, Aaron’s appearances were limited to First-Class and List-A matches, amid the Kohli and Ravi Shastri era.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More
Less
Published: 20 Mar 2024, 09:38 PM IST