Ajit Agarkar's Tenure as Chief Selector Nears End
Ajit Agarkar’s time as India’s chairman of selectors is hanging by a thread, and everyone inside Indian cricket seems to know it – even if the BCCI has stopped just short of saying it out loud.
No formal decision was announced at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Annual General Meeting on Friday, but the mood music from the room was unmistakable. The selectors’ chief is unlikely to last beyond the month, with his contract understood to be ending on October 4 and the Board clearly preparing for life after him.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia tried to keep the door technically open, while leaving little doubt about the direction of travel.
“We still have 15 days to go. Fifteen days is a long time in the world of cricket. We have time. We will make a decision and, at the appropriate time, we will let you know,” Saikia said after the AGM, confirming that the office-bearers have been authorised to take the final call.
Then came the telling clarification.
“We know on which date he is retiring. His tenure is going to be over. There is still 15 days’ time left. So we will make a decision during this 15-day period.”
The clock, in other words, is ticking loudly.
A tenure under scrutiny
Agarkar’s continuation has been under intense scrutiny for weeks. His recent absence from a high-profile review meeting on India’s tour of the UK – a session where performances were dissected and plans debated – only sharpened the focus on his position, even as the BCCI publicly played it down.
The real flashpoint, though, came around the Rohit Sharma episode before the Lord’s ODI. The selectors had reportedly conveyed to the former captain that he did not figure in the team’s plans. The BCCI then stepped in. That intervention raised an awkward question: who really holds the power in Indian selection?
From that moment, Agarkar’s authority looked compromised. The selectors’ room, traditionally one of the most guarded spaces in Indian cricket, suddenly felt exposed.
Whispers turned louder during the recent selection meeting in Delhi, where squads were picked for the West Indies ODIs, the Irani Cup and the India A teams. The meeting itself, sources said, went ahead without drama. No walkouts, no visible confrontation. But as the discussions wound down, a different kind of murmur surfaced – that this could be Agarkar’s last meeting as chairman.
Succession plan already forming
If Agarkar’s tenure does end as expected, the BCCI will not be able to simply drop in a new chairman overnight. The Board must follow its own process: issue an advertisement for the post, shortlist candidates, conduct interviews. That machinery takes time to turn. At least a month, possibly more.
Which means Indian cricket could be staring at a short but significant transition phase in one of its most influential roles.
Within that vacuum, a frontrunner has already emerged. Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel is seen as the leading candidate to succeed Agarkar. Patel, who has stayed close to the game through commentary, mentorship and franchise roles, fits the profile of a modern selector with a broad view of the domestic and IPL landscape.
But Patel cannot simply be handed the job. The process must play out.
In the interim, the Board is likely to lean on experience already inside the selection committee. Pragyan Ojha, who has played more Tests than any of the other four selectors, is being viewed as the natural stopgap chairman if Agarkar steps aside before a formal replacement is appointed.
It would be a temporary fix, but a crucial one, with India’s schedule leaving little room for administrative drift.
For now, though, everything circles back to that 15-day window Saikia underlined. Fifteen days to confirm what the game already suspects. Fifteen days to decide who shapes the next chapter of Indian cricket selection – and how much control the selectors will truly have when that chapter begins.
