Former Indian pacer Varun Aaron hailed Sachin Tendulkar by remembering his Test debut against West Indies in November 2011. He opened up about how Tendulkar's inspirational words changed his debut. Despite a lacklustre start, he claimed three wickets – Darren Bravo, Carlton Baugh and Daren Sammy – in his first appearance. Aaron hit the headlines in 2008 for his sheer pace but he couldn’t play for India until three years later.
‘I was really down’
"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," Aaron said in an interview with the BCCI.
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Last month, the right-arm speedster Aaron announced his retirement from red-ball cricket at the end of Jharkhand's Ranji Trophy 2023/24 season.
'Just a few words from Sachin Tendulkar'
"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 may be 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."
Unfortunately, his impressive career for India was cut short due to injuries. However, between 2011 and 2015, he played nine Tests and nine ODIs, claiming 18 and 11 wickets respectively.
Aaron’s appearances were limited to first-class and List-A matches. In 65 first-class matches, he picked up 168 wickets at an average of 33.74.
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