Dravid toughest batsman I've ever bowled to: Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron (IANS)

Jaipur, May 26:  Batting great Rahul Dravid is the toughest batsman Varun Aaron has bowled to, the Rajasthan Royals pacer has revealed.

"I would say Rahul Dravid is the toughest batsman I've ever bowled to," Aaron said during a Royals Podcast on Facebook with New Zealand spinner and Royals spin consultant Ish Sodhi.

"Every time I turned up to bowl to him in the nets, it felt like I was just bowling at 120kph. It's just something that he does to you.

"I have never bowled to a batsman who would lunge out to the max and play you as if you've just bowled a throw down to him. As a bowler that's extremely irritating to bowl to somebody like him," said the 30-year old who has played nine Tests and the same number of ODIs for India. Aaron last turned out for India in 2015.

Aaron also said it was surreal to be part of a team bus full of legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and Virender Sehwag. He made his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies in Mumbai.

"I think getting the Test cap for India is the highlight for any cricketer. No matter what one does after that, it is the highest point of his career.

"If you ask any of the greats, they will all say the highlight for them was getting the Test cap for India. I feel there's nothing better than that and that's for everyone.

"I received my Test cap from Laxman. I was lucky enough to play with the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Viru back then, I mean it was surreal. The most striking moment for me was stepping onto the bus on the first day of practise and walking by all these guys, having watched them growing up as a kid, it was really special to be part of that bus," Aaron said.

In 2014, Aaron had struck England pacer Stuart Broad on the nose with a fiery bouncer at Old Trafford. Asked about the incident he said, "The ball before I hit Stuart Broad, he actually kind of top-edged it for a six. As a bowler, you never want to be hit for a six, especially by a lower-order batsman.

"So next ball I went over the wicket and decided to just let it rip and I absolutely gave everything I had on that ball. It hit him on his helmet, and initially, I realised that I couldn't see the ball, and I was like "Oh no!", the ball was stuck in his helmet.

"Then I went to him and saw blood dripping down from his helmet and felt really bad looking at that. At the end of the day you never want to hurt somebody. The first thing I did as soon as the innings got over was just rush to the English team's dressing room to check on him.

"He had ice on him and had a broken nose, to be fair to him he turned for the next game with a face mask and played the whole game. Reflecting on it now, I feel it would've been better had that incident not happened, you never want to injure somebody that bad."