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With reports of a possible 'cold war' between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the chief selector of the Indian cricket team, Ajit Agarkar, fresh reports have claimed that the board will soon decide the future of Agarkar through a meeting.
Ajit Agarkar's contract is set to expire in September, one year before the next ODI World Cup. Agarkar could remain in the position if the board officials decide to renew his contract, which they did before.
Ajit Agarkarkar reportedly pushed Rohit Sharma for retirement
But now, especially in the past few months, reports about the former India national cricket team fast bowler were not very satisfied, as multiple reports claimed that the selector-in-chief pushed the former India captain Rohit Sharma to take retirement from international cricket, ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Rohit, however, remains active in the One Day Internationals after being retired from the T20Is and Tests. If the previously published reports across various platforms are to be believed true, then there could be some heat between Ajit Agarkar and the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
Will BCCI allow Ajit Agarkar to continue as the chief selector?
In the era of Agarkar, the Indian cricket team has gained a reputation for trying out young, emerging talents over experienced candidates. Rohit Sharma, who is nearing to his 40, only because of age, is not the best fit for the recent schemes of the selection panel.
The media reports claimed that Yashasvi Jaiswal was on the line to replace Rohit Sharma if he announced his retirement after the ODI series in England.
Widely surfaced reports mentioned that this year's ODI match against England at Lord's could be Rohit's farewell match. That did not happen in real life; instead, the veteran opener smashed a century to shut down his critics.
Now, because of the possible distance between Devajit Saikia and Ajit Agarkar due to selection preferences, it will not be surprising if the board wants to look beyond Agarkar for the role of head of the selection committee.
BCCI to hold a meeting soon
A recently published Sportstar report has shed some light on the recent developments around the hot seat of the chief selector. According to the recently published report, Ajit Agarkar and the BCCI officials will hold a meeting soon to decide the future of the chief selector position. Agarkar recently skipped the review meeting arranged by the cricket board.
"Agarkar and the BCCI office-bearers will hold a round of discussions over the next two days to chart out a roadmap for his extension. A BCCI functionary, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both parties were “positively looking at extension” and hoped that “a few teething issues” could be sorted out at the earliest," the report states.
The BCCI office-bearers and the selection committee have been involved in a cold war over the last two months. Agarkar’s absence from the BCCI’s performance review meeting on September 3 had further fuelled speculation over his future as chief selector," the report further adds.
