BCCI appoints Ajit Agarkar as chairman of Indian senior men's selection committee

Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has been named chairman of selectors for Indian men's team by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday. 45-year-old Agarkar 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 channel.

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

Agarkar will be the fifth member of the India men's selection panel, which already includes Shiv Sunder Das, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee and Sridharan Sharath.

The former India all-rounder represented the country in 26 Tests, 191 ODIs, and four T20Is, in addition to playing 110 first-class, 270 List A, and 62 T20 matches. As a former fast bowler, he was part of India's victorious squad in the inaugural T20 World Cup held in South Africa in 2007. He still holds the record for the fastest half-century by an Indian batter in ODI, achieved with a 21-ball fifty against Zimbabwe in 2000. He also held the record for being the fastest to reach 50 ODI wickets for nearly a decade, accomplishing the milestone in just 23 matches.

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 Agarkar for the role of Chairperson of the Men’s Selection Committee based on seniority (total number of Test matches).

Last week, Agarkar relinquished his assistant coach's post in IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.

The BCCI might have to increase the annual remuneration of Rs 1 crore offered to the chairman of selectors and Rs 90 lakh for the other members of the panel because Agarkar, as an assistant coach with DC and as a commentator, earns way more than current annual package of chief selector and hence, the BCCI will have to review the existing pay structure, reported PTI last week.

Agarkar had earlier appeared for an interview for the selector's post back in 2021 when Chetan Sharma from North Zone became the head of the panel.

The BCCI has this time relaxed the age cap of 60 years and also decided to do away with the convention of honouring the zonal system where five zones (North East not included currently) have representation. Hence, there was a possibility of having two selectors from the West Zone.