Former India fast bowler Varun Aaron has been named Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) new bowling coach ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. On July 14, the franchise posted on social media to confirm the news.
Aaron is the replacement of previous New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin who has served in that position in the 2024 and 2025 IPL seasons. During Franklin tenure of service, SRH had to settle with runners-up spots in 2024, but could not do the same in 2025, allowing themselves to finish at the end of the season, in sixth place. The team had problems in bowling as the SRH has toiled till the end of the season, scoring 286/6 in the first game of the season against the Rajasthan Royals, which is the highest score in the tournament.
In the meantime, another of the MRF Pace Foundation products, the 35-year-old Varun Aaron was one of the fastest bowlers in India in the first half of the decade. His international career was however troubled with numerous stress fractures that only saw him play 18 international matches comprising nine Tests and nine ODIs, where he took 29 wickets.
Varun Aaron Played for Six Franchises During His IPL Career
Remarkably, among the most famous moments of Varun Aaron was the incident experienced during the 2014 England tour when his bouncer hit Stuart broad and the England bowler had his nose broken. However, Aaron had a ten year career in the IPL, playing in six teams (Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Gujarat Titans). He was an active participant of 52 IPL games, in which he claimed 44 wickets with the economy rate of 8.93. His last season was served with the Gujarat Titans in 2022 as a part of their winning team.
Aaron has moved into media and mentoring jobs since retiring. He worked as a cricket specialist and as a consultant at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai after declaring his retirement from representative cricket in January 2025.
