Ajit Agarkar’s tenure as the chairman of the selection committee finally came to an end on Tuesday as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited applications for one position in the Men’s committee. Agarkar, who took over as the chief selector in 2023, saw his tenure coming to an end last week, and the former India pacer didn’t seek an extension. In the meantime, Pragyan Ojha will be the interim chief selector and will chair the meeting for the squad selection for the New Zealand T20Is, ODIs and Tests.
Under Agarkar, India reached the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup and won the 2024 T20 World Cup, the 2025 Champions Trophy, and the 2026 T20 World Cup. Earlier this year, a lot was made of a report claiming that Rohit Sharma would play his last international match at Lord’s after the Agarkar-led panel seemingly made up their minds to give Yashasvi Jaiswal a go in the lineup, with the 2027 World Cup in mind.
However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia came out and rubbished all such reports, saying Rohit will remain in the scheme of things. The matter took another turn after Agarkar was absent from the BCCI’s review meeting, and this was the first sign that the former India pacer might not get an extension or might not be seeking one himself.
Agarkar’s last role as the chief selector was to pick the squads for the ODIs and T20Is against the West Indies. Now, it remains to be seen whether Ojha takes over as the chief selector or the BCCI brings someone else into the mix.
