Ajit Agarkar wants to step down as chief selector, writes to BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is on a lookout for a new chief of selectors after receiving a communication from the current Chairman of men’s selection committee Ajit Agarkar on Thursday stating his intention to step down from the top job at the end of his term.

“In his communication, Agarkar has cited his previous discussions with the board in February, when he had first alerted top decision makers to look for alternatives at the end of his current term,” a BCCI official told HT. Agarkar’s current tenure ends on October 4.

At the BCCI AGM on Friday, office bearers were authorised to take the selection committee matter forward. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia remained non-committal when asked about Agarkar’s future on Friday. “We still have 15 days to go, a long time in the world of cricket. We will make a decision at the appropriate time,” he said.

Agarkar, who took over as selection committee chairman in July 2023, is eligible to get another year’s extension. But the recent turn of events where the BCCI differed with the Agarkar-led selection committee’s reservations on former captain Rohit Sharma’s ODI future may have hastened his exit. Agarkar did not attend the BCCI review meeting held recently.

Over his three-year tenure, Agarkar has overseen a significant phase of the team’s transition where Shubman Gill was appointed as captain after Rohit and Virat Kohli were phased out from Test cricket. His committee also took the brave call to appoint Shreyas Iyer as T20I captain replacing Suryakumar Yadav after the latter’s runs went dry despite winning the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Unless the BCCI and Agarkar can reconcile over the next few days — there is a view within the board that Agarkar should continue until the 2027 World Cup — the leading candidate to replace him is former India stumper Parthiv Patel. Current selector Pragyan Ojha is also seen as a contender, if the BCCI decides to replace Agarkar with a less-capped Test player from the West Zone. As per the BCCI constitution, the most capped Test player in the selection committee takes over as chairman. Patel has played 25 Tests while Ojha has played 24.

Rasesh Mandani loves a straight drive. He has been covering cricket, the governance and business side of sport for close to two decades. He writes and video blogs for HT.

Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams, players update on Hindustan Times.