Varun Raymond Aaron is an Indian cricketer from Jamshedpur. A right-arm fast bowler, he first played for Jharkhand U-19 followed by Jharkhand Ranji team. He played his first One Day International for India in October 2011 and made his Test debut the following month. Possessing a smooth run-up and a repeatable action, Aaron consistently bowls in excess of. He currently plays for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
Early years
Hailing from Jharkhand, Aaron has been part of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai since he was spotted by a talent scout at the age of 15. In his first year with the Jharkhand Under-19 side, he also played for East Zone and was later part of the India Under-19 camp. He grew up admiring Andy Roberts, and the pace has been his focus since his teens. This led to two stress fractures of the back soon after he made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2008-09 season for Jharkhand, but he continues to focus on bowling quick. Having earlier been part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad, he made his IPL debut in 2011 for Delhi Daredevils.
Domestic career
Aaron took 13 wickets in the 2010–11 Ranji Trophy and bowled a delivery. He was part of the India Emerging Players squad that went to Australia in 2011, and after impressing there earned a call-up to the India ODI squad for the series in England. Though he did not get a game on that trip, he made his India debut in Mumbai when England returned for an ODI series in October 2011. He was part of the India Emerging Players squad that went to Australia in 2011, and after impressing there earned a call-up to the Indian T20 and ODI squad for the series in England as a replacement for Ishant Sharma. In September 2014, he was signed by the Durham County Cricket Club for the 2014 County Championship. In February 2017, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab team for the 2017 Indian Premier League for 2.8 crores. In October 2018, he was named in India B's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. In December 2018, he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League. In August 2019, he was named in the India Red team's squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy.
International career
ODI career
In his debut match for the National team, Varun extracted pace from a low and slow Wankhede pitch in the fourth ODI of the 2011 India-England ODI series. He took three wickets for 24 runs, all of which were bowled out, which included England's top scorer Tim Bresnan in that match. Previously, he had travelled to England during India's disastrous tour earlier that year but remained benched. He only bowled 3 overs in his second match against England at Eden gardens and took 1 wicket of Alastair Cook which proved to be a key strike for India. On 25 January 2014, Aaron made his international comeback after 2 years, having previously suffered from a back injury. He returned figures of 1/52. He also played in the 2014 Asia Cup where against Bangladesh he bowled 7.5 overs and conceded 74 runs for 1 wicket and bowled a ball travelling at 149.9 km/h. He made his ODI comeback against Sri Lanka where he was only able to bowl 4.1 overs before he injured his ankle. In the match, he bowled a delivery at 152.5 km/h which is the fastest delivery of the match. In IPL 2015 his fastest ball is 150.2 km/h making him the second fastest bowler of the tournament.
Test career
He was selected in the Test squad for the first time in India's home series against the West Indies. On 22 November 2011 he made his Test debut in the 3rd Test at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. In the first innings, he took 3 wickets for 106 runs. Due to a back injury, he had a two-year hiatus from national cricket. In July 2014, Aaron was selected by India for the five-match Test series to be played in England. After being benched for the first 3 tests, Aaron appeared in the 4th Test at Old Trafford. He took 3 wickets for 97 runs. He took 2 wickets for 153 runs from 29 overs. Varun had been selected for IND vs SL Test in August 2015. Aaron has also played in the India vs. South Africa Test series in which he features in the 1st Test at Mohali on 5 November 2015.
