Delhi Capitals had called upon the services of the teenager since 2021
England teenager Aryaman Varma happened to be among the few lucky youngsters to have closely interacted with the big names of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Eton College student was training at the ICC Academy in Dubai in 2021 when he was spotted by one of the coaches of Delhi Capitals while bowling in the nets.
It was the pandemic and the IPL had to be shifted to the UAE after being delayed from its initial window from March to April. The team was training at the same facility for IPL 2021 when they brought in Varma for a few practice sessions.
Varma, who has won the prestigious Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year award recently, receives tips about his leg-spin from India’s lead wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and many others linked to DC.
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Stars had to align for Varma to bowl to some of the world’s best batters.
“I was bowling to Rishabh Pant and Mitchell Marsh… all of these amazing players. It was really just a random training session. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I did relatively well, and they were impressed, so they called me back the next year,” Varma told Hindustan Times in an interview.
The 18-year-old legspinner has bowled to other elites such as David Warner, KL Rahul, Axar Patel while receiving coaching from legends such as Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson.
The former Middlesex and Surrey Under 19 player also shares his developments with India’s T20 World Cup winner Kuldeep Yadav during off season.
“No exaggeration, he’s probably the nicest guy I’ve met. In the off-season, I sent him videos of my bowling, and he gives me advice on technical things I could improve on. He’s always happy to take my phone call, which is amazing. I’m lucky that way. If I can get anywhere as good as him, it would be unbelievable,” Varma said of the left-armer.
Varma who is a fan of Virat Kohli and spin legend Shane Warne, also credited Kuldeep for teaching him many other things besides the intricacies of spin bowling.
“Mentally, it’s not just on the pitch. It’s also on the bus, the warm-ups. Even what music he listens to. So, you pick up those small habits that these amazing players have,” the youngster explained.
Varma also revealed valuable advice he received from former DC head coach Ponting.
“He told me I’m young, I shouldn’t worry about anything except for just playing the game. I shouldn’t worry about stats or results and just focus on how many balls I’m bowling. That ingrained into me. He told me to just put in the hours, and you will feel the reward later. That has improved my work ethic,” Varma said.
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