Just weeks before the Asia Cup 2025, the Ajit Agarkar-led senior men’s selection committee is expected to undergo some changes. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Friday that it is inviting applications for two new selectors, sparking speculation about who might step down and who could step in.
The BCCI has set September 10, 5 PM IST as the deadline for applications. As per eligibility rules, candidates must have retired from professional cricket at least five years ago and should have played a minimum of seven Tests or 30 first-class matches, or 10 ODIs and 20 first-class games. In addition, no applicant should have served on a BCCI cricket committee for more than five cumulative years.
A BCCI official explained:
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒔. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆.”
Pragyan Ojha Likely to Join the Panel
The current selection panel includes Ajit Agarkar (Chairman), Ajay Ratra, Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Bannerjee, and S. Sharath. While Ajit Agarkar’s position is secure until at least September 2026, two positions—likely from the South Zone and Central Zone—are expected to see changes.
Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Sridharan Sharath, who is set to return as head of the junior selection committee, a role he previously held successfully. Subroto Bannerjee is also expected to make way for a new representative from the Central Zone.
An insider revealed:
“𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝑪𝑪𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆.”
Meanwhile, Ajay Ratra and Shiv Sundar Das are likely to continue in their roles.
Recent Success and Future Challenges
The Ajit Agarkar-led committee has overseen some of India’s most successful moments in recent years, including victories at the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, as well as guiding the team to the 2023 ODI World Cup final. The panel also played a pivotal role in handing Shubman Gill the Test captaincy following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from red-ball cricket.
Interestingly, changes are also expected on the women’s side. The Neetu David-led women’s selection committee is set for a major overhaul, with four members completing their terms. Only Shyama Shaw, who joined the panel in 2023, is expected to remain part of it.
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