It's show time for Varun Aaron!!

So the tables have turned on India in the ongoing test series against England after they were trounced by the host team comprehensively in the third test. What was interesting about that match was the fact that England didn’t rely on a green top to scuttle India. It turned out to be a smart move because India has quality swing bowlers who can make good use of such condition. Instead it was a good hard batting wicket where bowlers needed to bend their back in order to get some purchase. The problems were compounded by the fact that Ishant Sharma was injured who was in good form and probably the only Indian bowler who can hit the deck hard.

As a result England piled on a mammoth score and Indian team just fell like a pack of cards. Going by the indications, England are in no mood to change their winning strategy. So the only answer that India has right now is Varun Aaron. The Jamshedpur born pacer is the only bowler in current Indian lot who can consistently hit the 150 mark. He made news when he bowled a delivery at 153 kmph during a Ranji trophy match in 2011. Although he has had a career chequered with injuries so far, but the selectors and team management rate him very highly.

Facing genuine pace is an uncomfortable proposition for any batsmen, no matter how experienced he is or how good a player of pace bowling he is. Varun Aaron can be that attacking option that M.S. Dhoni badly needs at this stage of the series. He has a nice strong action, bowls from close to the stumps and has decent control as well. He hasn’t been given a long run so far in the team although he has been part of squads for various tours. He has been patiently waiting for his chance and a match winning performance against England could just be the break he is looking for.

Indian bowling has been very patchy in this series. Individual performances of Ishant and Bhuvaneshwar in the second test notwithstanding, there hasn’t been much to boast about. Mohammad Shami has been a pail shadow of the tearaway quicky we saw last year and Jadeja has been really ineffective on the English surfaces, being reduced to a more defensive role.

So the one thing that India need is someone with the firepower to rattle the English batting line up and provide the Indian team a fresh approach. Varun Aaron can be a potential trump card for the Indian team and it can be a great opportunity to him if given, it’s all a matter of whether he is able to grab that opportunity with both hands or not.