Ajit Agarkar Led Selection Panel To See Changes As BCCI Invites Applications For The Post Of National Selector

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited applications for the post of one national selector for the senior men’s team as the Ajit Agarkar-led panel lacks a member from one of the zones.

However, the advertisement published by the BCCI on their website doesn’t specify which current selector in the five-member panel would be replaced. The five-member panel of the selectors is headed by Ajit Agarkar who was appointed for the position last year.

The selection panel comprises one member from each of the five zones which are the North Zone, East Zone, South Zone, West Zone, and Central Zone. No selector can serve for more than five years in the position which includes serving as the selector of the junior team. The selection panel is headed by the member with the most No. of Test Caps amongst all the members.

After the departure of Chetan Sharma last July, Ajit Agarkar was brought in as the chairman to fill the vacancy. However, his arrival added an extra member from the West Zone. Both the West Zone members belong to the same association (Mumbai Cricket Association), with no one from the north. The other members currently in the panel are Salil Ankola (west), SS Das (east), S Sharath (south), and Subroto Banerjee (central).

The BCCI might want someone on the committee who represents the North Zone and one of the two men from the west might have to make way. The decision to pick Ajit Agarkar as the chief selector was a unanimous choice of the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Sulakshana Naik, and Jatin Paranjape. It was understood given the circumstances that Chetan Sharma had to leave the post after being involved in a media sting operation.

Applicants can submit their candidature by 6 pm IST on January 25. The BCCI will then screen the applications before inviting the shortlisted ones for an interview. The criteria for all the applicants are that they should have played (a) a minimum of seven Tests, (b) 30 first-class games, or (c) ten ODIs and 20 first-class matches to be eligible. The date of the interviews is not decided yet.

The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has selected the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England starting from January 25. The squad for the subsequent Tests will be announced after the conclusion of the Vishakhapatnam Test. After the five-match Test series against England, the next assignment for Team India is the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Currently, the Men In Blue are facing Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series. They have won the first two games and will play the third on Wednesday, January 17 in Bengaluru.

Ajit Agarkar-led panel selected the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2023 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. India won the Asia Cup and reached the finals of the World Cup, losing to Australia in the finals. It is most likely that Salil Ankola will have to vacate his spot as Ajit Agarkar is currently the chief selector. However, it will depend on the experience and stature of the newly added selector.