New Delhi: Ajit Agarkar will continue as chairman of the senior selection committee after the BCCI decided to renew his contract for one more year, keeping an eye on the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Under Agarkar’s chairmanship, the selected Indian teams between October 2023 and March 2026 reached four ICC tournament finals, winning three of them — two T20 World Cups and one ICC Champions Trophy — and it was a foregone conclusion that his contract will be renewed for a fourth year.
“Agarkar didn’t seek extension. A selector can continue up to four years in either junior or senior selection committee and five years cumulatively across both committees. Hence, Ajit’s contract is being renewed and not extended,” a senior BCCI source told PTI.
“The team has done well, and the decision-making has been fearless. The board felt he should continue to lead the committee, and the officials will update him on the sidelines of the IPL matches,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying.
The top brass relied on continuity and also the fact that some of the members of the selection panel are new, with RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha yet to complete one year in the office.
Under Ajit Agarkar’s stint, India have won back-to-back T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026 and also the Champions Trophy last year. With the ODI World Cup scheduled next year, the board has decided to back Agarkar and his team, as per a report.
Agarkar’s tenure has also seen a transitional phase, marked by the Test retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandra Ashwin and the appointment of Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav as captains.
While India have gone down in Test cricket, losing home series to New Zealand and South Africa, the results have been brilliant in white-ball cricket. Agarkar has taken several bold calls regarding the selection of the players.
He brought back Ishan Kishan to the T20 World Cup squad, and the wicket-keeper batter scored over 300 runs in India’s successful campaign this year. Gill was dropped from the T20I team, with Sanju Samson getting a go-ahead. Samson was named the Player of the Tournament in the global tournament.
