However, after the successful ECB formula laid out the bio-bubble plans and hosted a whole series with minimal fuss, we are looking at a full season of IPL. And this can possibly be a long summer of cricket for the Indian team, who will later tour Australia for a four-match Test series to resume their ICC World Test Championship campaign. 

“Lockdown has been as good as it can get,” Aaron told SportsCafe. “You can’t do much but I still managed to get a few net sessions and luckily I have a gym at home, so I have been enjoying spending this time alone more than anything. But obviously, I am missing cricket because it has never been that I have been fit and I have not played for almost four months. So it has been odd but still there are a lot of positives to be taken out from. I am managing to get a few net sessions here and there and I have been bowling in isolation so yeah, it [turning up in IPL after a long break] shouldn't be a problem.”

“Playing in India would have been the first choice because there is nothing like playing in front of your home fans and giving them sport and having the whole vibe around the IPL which is really nice. But I feel that none of us can be choosers at the moment because the fact that we are getting to play IPL is good enough. And also when I played in 2014 in UAE it was quite enjoyable honestly because they had hosted it really well. 

“But this time around it might be different as this time there won’t be crowds and it might have to be in this bio-secure bubble, but more than anything me and the cricketers are looking forward to playing cricket and that too the cricket of the standard of IPL. Yeah playing last time in the UAE was personally good to me. I really enjoyed the wickets and the conditions there,” the pacer added.

Breaking down the similarities between Indian and Emirates conditions, the Jharkhand pacer, who had a stellar comeback to the IPL in the Royals’ colours last year, stated that there is hardly any difference between the two countries.

“For example, if Jaipur is our home ground, it will be like going to Bombay or Kolkata for playing a game because it’s just different names of places but more or less the conditions are not that different that to India. Of course, if we were playing the IPL in England or New Zealand then it would have been a different scenario altogether because it’s not within the realms of how the conditions are in India. But in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, the wickets are more or less Indian as wickets.”

“I don’t think so because I think once we are part of teams we just need to bowl how much we need to bowl and we don’t bowl as much as the batsmen need us to bowl, we bowl as much as we need to bowl. I am sure every team will figure out how to get their batsmen in touch and get guys who can give them throwdowns and stuff like that. I don’t see that as a challenge as at the end of the day we will have to bowl as much as we need to bowl as professionals and it will not be dictated by how much the batsmen need to bat,” asserted Aaron, who last played his international match in 2015.

One of the most determined and chilled-out cricketers one could ever come across, Varun Aaron has never sacrificed any substance to stay relevant in Indian cricket. His growth happened organically - from playing for Jharkhand to India to RR - and his love for the game has seen no bounds. The same is on the show now once again, after a six-month-long break, as the pacer is ready to commit for a two-month fun and frolic with the pink army.