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Cricket PlayersAjit Agarkar’s final selection meeting looms: Plans ‘Thank you’ note to Devajit Saikia as BCCI silence clouds his future
The selection meeting for the West Indies white-ball series could be Ajit Agarkar's last as a chief selector.
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Ajit Agarkar hoped to have his contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) extended, and rightfully so, after three consecutive successes in India's white-ball format during his tenure as the chief selector. But continued silence from the BCCI top brass has made it all but clear that the selection meeting for the upcoming T20I and ODI series at home against the West Indies will be his last as head of the committee.
Agarkar was appointed as the selection committee chairman in July 2023. India have since lost just two matches in an ICC white-ball competition - the 2023 ODI World Cup final and against South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup - en route to winning the T20 World Cup in 2024 and 2026 and the Champions Trophy in 2025. Not to forget, India were also unbeaten in their Asia Cup haul last year in Dubai. But more importantly, he was at the helm when India went through a difficult transition phase in Test cricket following the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin last year.
Agarkar's contract initially expired in June this year, which was later extended by the BCCI until October 4. But the former India pacer had sought an extension until the end of the ODI World Cup next year in October.
However, recent turn of events found Agarkar not on the same page as the BCCI top officials, making his case for an extension almost negative.
According to a PTI report, with none of BCCI's top decision-makers having contacted the selection committee chairman yet, the meeting to pick the white-ball squads for the West Indies series might just be his last.
The report also revealed that Agarkar told sources close to him that "after West Indies team selection, he is likely to mail a thank you note to secretary Devajit Saikia for BCCI giving him an opportunity to work for three years."
There was supposedly to be a discussion about Agarkar's future during a BCCI review meeting earlier this month in Mumbai, but he wasn't present for personal reasons. “Today he was out of station. He could not be a part of the meeting because this meeting was called at a very short notice, and our head of the selection committee was not in town, so he could not join it. He was in such an area that he could not join online also, in spite of all these efforts,” Saikia told reporters on September 3.
What went wrong on Agarkar's part?
Although speculative, Agarkar, his committee, and the BCCI heads have been at loggerheads over Rohit Sharma's future. While the selectors have been adamant that Rohit does not fit in their plan for World Cup 2027, which was further communicated to the player as well, Saikia showed his support twice in the media, indicating that Rohit has the backing of BCCI heads, which did not sit well with the selectors.
Speculations are rife that former India batter VVS Laxman, the current head of the CoE, could replace Agarkar as the next selection committee chairman.
