BCCI appoints Ajit Agarkar as the new chairman of selection committee

Ajit Agarkar is the most experienced member of the BCCI selection committee having played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and 4 T20Is for India.

Ajit Agarkar, the former India pacer, has been officially appointed as the chief of the national men’s team selection committee by the BCCI on July 4, 2023. Agarkar, 45, applied for the selector's job which has been vacant since February after Chetan Sharma stepped down in the wake-up of a sting operation conducted on him by an Indian television network.

Agarkar will take on the role of chairman of selectors for the second time; he previously did so for Mumbai between 2017 and 2019. For the previous two years, Agarkar was a member of the Delhi Capitals coaching staff for the past two years; however, the two parties parted ways as Agarkar showed interest in the BCCI chief selector opening and resigned from his job.

Member of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning Indian team, Ajit Agarkar is the senior member of the panel and as per BCCI rules becomes its chairman. Agarkar, who made his India debut in 1998, played 26 Tests, 196 ODIs, and 4 T20Is for India till 2007.

He was also part of the 1999, 2003, and 2007 World Cup Indian squads.

BCCI statement confirmed that Agarkar was the unanimous choice of the three-person Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Sulakshana Naik, and Jatin Paranjape, which conducted the interviews on Monday.

“The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), consisting of Ms Sulakshana Naik, Mr Ashok Malhotra, and Mr Jatin Paranjape, interviewed applicants for the position of one selector in the Men's Selection Committee. The three-member CAC has unanimously recommended Mr Ajit Agarkar for the said position.

Following his playing career, he was appointed as the Chief Selector for the senior Mumbai Team and undertook coaching responsibilities with the Delhi Capitals. The committee further recommended Mr Agarkar for the role of Chairperson of the Men’s Selection Committee based on seniority (total number of Test matches),” BCCI tweeted.

Ajit Agarkar makes it two selectors from West Zone, the other being Salil Ankola

Apart from Ajit Agarkar, the other members of the selection panel are Shiv Sunder Das, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee, and S Sharath.

It is expected that Agarkar will be chairing the selection committee meeting to pick the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series in the West Indies, as his first assignment.