Hyderabad: Aaron George, who has been selected to represent India in the World Cup under‑19 cricket championship to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia next month, has clearly emerged as one of the biggest hopes from the city to make it to the India senior team by virtue of his sheer consistency.
The gifted young top‑order batter Aaron is now ready for the biggest challenge of his career.
“Yes, I feel honoured at getting this huge opportunity and also ready for all the challenges that come with it,” Aaron told Telangana Today before flying to Mumbai for the South Africa tour ahead of the World Cup.
“Well, the preparations will be nothing specific except trying to be in some good space mentally and physically. I don’t want to miss out strategically at any point of time,” Aaron said.
“I believe my strong points are my body positioning and alignment with strong basics,” the young talent said, while acknowledging his first coach Subash Sir at DAV Public School, Safilguda. “Later on, I owe a lot to Biju Nair sir,” he added.
When did you get a feel of making it really big? “I think after scoring a triple century against Bihar in the Vijay Merchant Trophy under‑16 in 2021. That knock gave me the confidence to look far ahead,” Aaron said.
Significantly, Aaron led Hyderabad in style, clinching the Vinoo Mankad Trophy under‑19 this season. “Yes, it was a terrific season and I have learnt a lot,” he said.
“Definitely playing in the recent Asia Cup under‑19 was another major challenge given the tougher conditions and opposition. I always believe in the process of learning,” said Aaron, who is a huge fan of South African AB de Villiers and hopes to meet him soon in South Africa.
“I am comfortable batting either at No 1 or No 3 as the slot gives me a lot of opportunities to showcase my skills,” he said, while thanking his parents Easo Varghese and Preethi Varghese for their unstinted support and also the Hyderabad Cricket Association for the kind of opportunities they gave him at different levels.
Hyderabad under‑19 coach Bavanaka Sandeep said the best thing with him was his clarity about what he wanted to achieve as a batter in the tournament, especially the strike rate with which he wanted to play. “I’m sure his precise preparation in the off‑season helped him achieve that,” the former Ranji star batter said.
“What impresses me most is the way he gets his bottom hand in some of the shots, generating a good amount of topspin and great force, a quality possessed by a top‑class batter,” Sandeep said.
