"Slightly unfulfilled potential" - Aakash Chopra on Varun Aaron's retirement

Former India player Aakash Chopra has reflected on Varun Aaron's recent retirement from representative cricket. He reckoned the express pacer did not realize his full potential in international cricket.

Aaron picked up 18 wickets at an average of 52.61 in nine Tests. He didn't play a T20I and accounted for 11 dismissals at an average of 38.09 in nine ODIs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that Aaron could have achieved more in international cricket than he did.

"Varun Aaron has announced his retirement. He first left red-ball cricket and now he has left cricket entirely. He said - 'That's it, I am done.' He used to bowl fast. Varun Aaron was actually rapid, he had pace. If I remember correctly, he made his debut in Adelaide because Virat Kohli liked fast bowlers a lot at that time," he said (11:30).

"He got him to make his debut and the poor guy got hit a lot and I said where the guy had been trapped. However, he didn't get to play much cricket after that. I thought he was good. Slightly unfulfilled potential if I see it from Varun's viewpoint. He was a very decent cricketer," Chopra added.

Aaron made his Test debut in 2011 in Mumbai against the West Indies, picking up three wickets for 129 runs across the two innings. He made a Test comeback in 2014, playing back-to-back matches against England in Manchester and at the Oval, followed by consecutive games against Australia in Adelaide, under Virat Kohli's captaincy, and Brisbane.

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"Whoever almost feels that he might not be able to play for India now, they are very happy to retire" - Aakash Chopra on Varun Aaron joining the list of recent retirements

Varun Aaron is remembered for injuring Stuart Broad with a nasty bouncer. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Varun Aaron has joined the list of Indian players who retired recently.

"He has bid goodbye and Rishi Dhawan also did that recently. You know what is happening, may not be in the case of Varun Aaron, there is a spate of retirements. Whoever almost feels that he might not be able to play for India now, they are very happy to retire," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the demand for retired Indian players is growing, with even renowned and recently successful players like Shikhar Dhawan calling it quits from representative cricket.

"Things are changing in Indian cricket. Considering that there are so many tournaments like the Legends League, the demand for retired players has become more than active players. Shikhar Dhawan too thought that he should maximize the next two or three years. He could have played a bit more," Chopra observed.

Chopra pointed out that retirements that were delayed earlier are happening early now. He added that India's domestic cricket could be adversely impacted if experienced players leave early.