With Ishant Sharma Injured, Varun Aaron Aims to Impress in Domestic Cricket to Get Back Test Spot

Varun Aaron's furious spell of 5/23 of fast bowling on Friday for Jharkhand against Kerala comes at an interesting time. Ishant Sharma's hamstring injury has potentially opened the door for Aaron in the Test series against South Africa. (Ishant Sharma Down with Hamstring Injury)

Aaron, who played only one Test against Sri Lanka in Galle,  was omitted after a poor show as he scalped just two wickets and failed to control the runs. In June during the Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah, he was not considered. (BCCI Has Backed Me With my Rehab and Surgery: Aaron)

The 26-year-old Aaron, however, believes that his good showing in the domestic tournaments will be able to give him another chance to come back into the Test team ahead of the four-Test series against South Africa. (Varun Aaron Can Play Big Role in Pace Attack: Allan Donald)

"I can't say much about my chances for the Test squad against South Africa but I can only say that I have been putting in all the effort. As of now, I have mostly been used in the Test scenario and that's why I am counting on my performances in the Ranji Trophy. I missed the first match for Jharkhand as I was playing for India A, but then I have been playing regularly," Aaron told NDTV.

"I took four wickets against Bangladesh A on a rank turner in Bengaluru and then took two wickets against Saurashtra in Rajkot. So, I am pretty confident of getting into the side."

Ishant is already banned for one Test and may be out for as long as six weeks due to the hamstring injury. Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma are currently in the ODI squad but Aaron may still have a look in for the Test series after their performance in the first ODI which India lost, as the bowlers conceded 100 runs in the last 10 overs.

Aaron, however, doosn't want to concentrate on that part. "If the boundary is shortened by 10 to 15 metres then what can the bowlers do? I think our bowlers did a decent job, as in the latter stages of the match  bastmen will go after a bowler," he said.

"I have suffered injuries at wrong times of my career, but now I am safe on that part. I want to concentrate on my own game now."

The advent of T20s has seen a rise in competition among the bowlers while getting a national call-up. Aaron is happy with this development. "This is a format which can be taken up by anyone. Young players like KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Shardul Thakur have been part of Indian squads. They performed well in the domestic tournament as well for their IPL sides, and look where they are," said Aaron, who is promoting Red Bull Campus Cricket.