IPL 2026: SRH Coach Varun Aaron Encourages Debutants Praful and Sakib to Enjoy the Game
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Hyderabad, April 14 (NationPress) The pace bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Varun Aaron, showered accolades on the young debutants, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, who delivered exceptional performances, taking four wickets each in a convincing 57-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Varun, instrumental in identifying these budding pacers for SRH, shared that his primary advice to Sakib and Praful before the match was to relish their first game and not focus on the outcome, a strategy that proved beneficial for the team.
“My sole objective for them was to enjoy the game because you only debut once in any cricket format. Given their backgrounds, what they achieved today is monumental, and it’s all about enjoying the moment. I insisted that if I didn’t see them having fun, I would be quite upset, and thankfully, they did enjoy it. We all did,” Varun expressed to the press following the match.
He also commended Praful’s determination to dismiss Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Reflecting on their pre-match discussion, the former Indian fast bowler stated, “The dialogue was about him wanting to bowl around the wicket, but I advised him to stay over the wicket. I was confident he could take the wicket.”
“It’s teamwork, after all. Ultimately, all credit goes to Praful. He had the self-belief to get Vaibhav out. He mentioned, ‘I’ve dismissed Vaibhav before, and I will do it today.’ The strategy was his, and I’m incredibly pleased for him,” Varun added.
Praful enjoyed a remarkable debut, taking three wickets in his inaugural over, making him the first bowler in IPL history to achieve three wickets in the first over of an innings. He ended with impressive figures of 4-34 across his four overs.
Sakib, who was introduced as an Impact Sub for Travis Head, finished with 4-24, including the crucial wicket of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, before dismantling the lower order of RR.
Thanks to the contributions from both bowlers, SRH successfully bowled out RR for a mere 159 runs in 19 overs while chasing a daunting total of 218 runs, marking their second victory of the season.