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Varun Aaron has said he won't compromise on his pace because it is his strength and he loves bowling fast - Cricket news from England v India 2011.

Varun Aaron, the Jharkhand fast bowler who has replaced Ishant Sharma in India's ODI squad for the England series, said he will not cut back on his pace as his career progresses because he loves bowling fast. Indian fast bowlers have a history of dropping their pace dramatically as their careers take off - Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and to some extent Ishant Sharma - but Aaron, who regularly clocks over 140kph and impressed for India Emerging Players during the recent tournament in Australia, said he will not go down that road.

"It's an individual thing, I guess. I don't know why they decided to give up on their pace. I love bowling fast, and it is my strength. I will never compromise on my pace," he told the Indian Express. "And it's a lot of fun to hit people on the head."

Aaron, who played for Delhi Daredevils in this year's IPL, does know the value of accuracy too. "Speed is okay; you have to bowl quick. But it troubles international batsmen only to a certain extent. After that, they adjust pretty easily," he told Reuters. "You have got to have a few tricks up your sleeve and you have got to bowl a good line and length consistently to get wickets. Even genuine fast bowlers have to have the right line and length."

With India struggling in the pace department in England, there were calls for Aaron, who is just 21, to be drafted into the national team, and when Ishant sustained an ankle injury, Aaron was called up to the one-day squad. He, however, said he would not be bogged down by the pressure of expectation. "It's tough to ignore the expectations that people have. But I don't want to think about that and I'm concentrating on bowling as fast and as well as I can."

One thing that could work in Aaron's favour is that the assistant coach at Delhi Daredevils is Eric Simons, who is also India's bowling coach. "Working with Eric was great," Aaron said. "Generally, he just tells you to do the most basic of things perfectly or a small little change here or there which somehow you fail to notice. But I am always open to advice."

Aaron took 13 wickets for Jharkhand during last year's Ranji season, followed by another nine in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, during which he reportedly bowled a 153-kph ball. He took 10 wickets in three games in the three-day leg of the Emerging Players Tournament , including 4 for 40 in the first innings against Australia Institute of Sport. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

In the words of Donald Sutherland from the movie "Dirty Dozen" "All very pretty Colonel but can they fight" Very apt words when describing this new call up for India.

Aaron should have been in the squad to begin with, at least as an experiment. He's not fast enough to destroy a good batting line-up with pace alone (like, say, Thomson or Holding), but is certainly a more promising prospect than burned-out semi-discards like Munaf and RP Singh. Of course, in two years, he will be a burn-out too, and then we'll need another one. Ishant Sharma close to that fate himself.

The kid doesn't know it's not the 70 and the 80's era anymore. Today cricket is being played to such an astronomical amount that it's almost impossible for a genuine pacer to consistently deliver fire. The humanly body of a fast bowler just CANNOT take THAT much. Imran Khan has been saying this for the last 8 years but looks like for ICC BCCI and for the players themselves, money matters more than preserving the golden art of fast bowling. Would anyone be surprised to see boundary lines being shrinked another 10 yards inside the ground, enforcement of permanent powerplay field setup, and permission to use tree trunks in the name of cricket bats JUST SO THAT THE BATSMEN COULD HIT MORE SIXES AND MORE FOURS so the crowd is entertained and money keeps pouring in? These kids a T20 game; a pacer runs into his run up, passes by the umpire and gets thrashed for 2 sixes and 3 fours in a 70 yard ground! WHO WANTS TO BE A PACE BOWLER ??

This guy is real quick and really accurate. Those who are talking against him don't obviously know what they are talking about. Atleast two of his 6 deliveries every over hit the 150KPH mark. Groomed well this guy can be our Dale Steyn!

It's difficult to sustain pace over long periods in Indian conditions.. Fast bowling can be sapping and the harsh weather in tropical countries like India drains your stamina.. Its OK to be an intimidating fast bowler like the former west Indian greats, but in International cricket, you need to to stick to line & length with clever & subtle variations to get wickets.. What pace did McGrath have to rattle the modern day greats like Sachin & Lara.. Even the West Indian quickies of the yesteryear, prostrated before Sunny Gavaskar's immaculate technique & courage.. Pace bowling is all about discipline, intelligence and perseverance and not just a mad pursuit to touching the 100 MPH mark as was done by Shoaib Akhtar of Pak..

As someone suggested in the thread, India might as well try Wasim Akram for a short stint as Fast Bowling Coach. He is a genius. Its on record how he groomed first Aqib Javed (though he was not fast but a good seamer) and then helped Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akram and inspired many others like Aamir, Sami, etc to bowl quick. Prasad also did well at coaching bowlers. All is not lost for India. With its population, and craze for cricket, they can produce top bowlers easily. Follow what Pakistan does for fast bowlers. Bring a raw talent direct into the team. Bowling is different from Batting. Fast bowlers dont come with technique, they have a natural talent and flair at bowling fast. They can do the job best when young.

If India is to make good talent into great cricketers, they should chart proper career paths for them. India is now trying to do what Australia has been hopelessly doing for the past year or so. He just played a good emerging players trophy and a couple of seasons on First class for a middle of road state team and suddenly he is shoved into limelight. Please make him play quality First class matches India A tour to England, Australia and S Africa. Or else get him a contract with a quality Ranji side so that he is atleast ensured a regular dose of bowling long spells. Until an unless a bowler bowls long spell at first class level he cannot do the same at test level.

How does a bowler who hasn't played for India for two years, and has had no first-class cricket since January, get in the side ahead of someone who was a big part of India's World Cup-winning campaign?

How does a bowler who hasn't played for India for two years, and has had no first-class cricket since January, get in the side ahead of someone who was a big part of India's World Cup-winning campaign?