BCCI Appoints Ajit Agarkar as the Chief Selector with Annual Compensation of Rs. 1 Crore

Ajit Agarkar is now heading the five-man selection committee. It comprises members such as Salil Ankola, Shiv Sundar Das, Sridharan Sharath, and Subroto Banerjee.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: 2023-07-05 08:17:56

After serving as the Delhi Capitals' assistant coach for the previous two seasons, Agarkar recently parted relations with the team. Ajit Agarkar has been chosen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to lead the Senior Men's Selection Committee. In a news statement, the BCCI stated that Agarkar had been recommended for the job of selector on the men's selection committee by its Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which is made up of Jatin Paranjape, Ashok Malhotra, and Sulakshana Naik.

After Chetan Sharma was fired in February of this year as a result of a contentious undercover operation in which he allegedly claimed that Hardik Pandya, who has been leading India in T20 matches since the T20 World Cup, was a frequent guest at his home, the chief selector's position was left vacant until February 2023. According to the press release, Mr. Ajit Agarkar has been unanimously chosen for the said position by the three-member CAC.

According to the press release, the CAC also suggested Agarkar based on seniority (number of Test matches played) for the position of chairperson of the men's selection committee. Agarkar, a former captain of Mumbai, participated for India in 26 Tests, 191 ODIs, and four T20 matches. He was a member of the team on the winning side of the 2007 ICC World T20 captained by MS Dhoni. Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee, Shiv Sundar Das, and Sridharan Sharath are the other senior selection committee members.

Shiv Sundar Das also served as interim chairperson after Sharma resigned. Agarkar was called upon by BCCI representatives. And they promised to upscale the head selector's annual remuneration (current) of Rs 1 crore. The compensation for the other selection panel members is Rs 90 lakh annually. Agarkar was the only "big" name on the list of applicants when he ultimately made the decision to apply. On Thursday, he said he is resigning as assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals.

BCCI did not select Agarkar in 2020. At this time, he had tried for the position of selector. It has been learned that the board's Apex Council meeting on Friday will decide formally to increase the selectors' compensation. A candidate should have played in at least 30 First-Class matches, 7 Test matches, and 10 One-Day Internationals, or 20 First-Class matches and 30 First-Class matches to fill the position of selector. He or she needs to have given up playing at least five years earlier.

Anyone who had been on Men's Selection Committee and served on any Cricket Committee for a collective period of five years (as per the BCCI's Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations), cannot apply for the said post. Sharma revealed that Indian athletes need injections to stay healthy. Additionally, he stated that Hardik Pandya, who has been leading India in T20s since the World Cup in the format was introduced in 2022, often came to his house.

Following Team India's elimination from the T20 World Cup in November, BCCI completely reintroduced the selection panel. However, Sharma was reappointed in January of this year.