Ajit Agarkar’s future as chairman of India’s senior men’s selection committee is set to be decided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office-bearers after the matter was formally discussed at the Board’s 95th Annual General Meeting in Mumbai on Friday. The BCCI has authorised its office-bearers to take a call on the future of the senior selection committee headed by Agarkar, whose current contract is scheduled to run out next month.
The development places the focus firmly on whether the former India fast-bowler will be offered an extension or whether the Board will move towards beginning the process of finding a new chairman. BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla confirmed the decision after attending the AGM at the Board’s headquarters in Mumbai. “Arun Singh Dhumal, Majumdar retain IPL governing council posts; AGM authorises office-bearers to take a decision on selectors,” Shukla said after the meeting.
Agarkar’s tenure approaching decision point
Agarkar was appointed chairman of the senior men’s selection committee in July 2023 and has since overseen a significant period in Indian cricket, encompassing major tournaments as well as changes across formats and personnel. With his present tenure now approaching its contractual conclusion, the BCCI will have to decide whether continuity remains its preferred course or whether it wants to begin a fresh selection process. The AGM has effectively given the office-bearers the authority to make the decision without requiring another broader meeting of the board.
The timing is significant because any change at the top of the selection committee would not necessarily be immediate. If Agarkar’s tenure is allowed to end with an extension, BCCI would first have to issue an advertisement inviting applications for the vacant position. Eligible candidates would then have to apply before the Board conducts the interview and evaluation process. Only after those steps are completed could a new chairman formally be appointed, meaning there could be a gap between the end of Agarkar’s current term and the installation of a successor.
That procedural requirement adds another layer to the decision confronting the BCCI. An extension would ensure continuity with the selection structure, while allowing the contract to expire would trigger a process that could take time to complete. BCCI president Mithun Manhas and vice-president Devajit Saikia were among the senior board officials present at the AGM. Bengal Cricket Association president Sourav Ganguly and Jharkhand State Cricket Association secretary Saurabh Tiwary were also among those in attendance.
For now, however, no final announcement has been made on Agarkar’s future. The AFM has instead cleared the way for the Board’s office-bearers to take the next call, leaving the senior selection committee’s immediate future dependent on a decision expected ahead of the expiry of the chairman’s contract next month. Agarkar, therefore, enters the final stretch of his existing term with his continuation yet to be formally settled, and with the BCCI now having established the mechanism through which that decision will be taken.
