Chief selector Ajit Agarkar of India has talked candidly about the difficulties of working in a demanding position. In July 2023, the senior selection committee for the Indian men’s cricket team was chaired by Agarkar. The former all-rounder used the comparison between a commentary job and a selector’s job to put the difficulties inherent in the former’s position into perspective.
“I think I’ll start with the simpler one. You still put in a lot of effort and spend hours on the ground as a commentator—and I don’t mean any disrespect. “Your job as a commentator is done as long as you get the right words out,” Agarkar said at the NDTV World Summit 2025.
Agarkar then used a player’s point of view to compare and contrast the power a selection has over the players.
“You get the most satisfaction from playing. You know your job is on the line every time you take the field. The fact that you are holding the bat or ball is one advantage for you as a player. Selecting a team of 15 leaves you with no further options as a selector. The job is demanding, demanding, and demanding. Not everyone can be pleased,” he continued.
He also discussed how it can be overwhelming to choose from a group of players with such skill. According to Agarkar, there are more fan bases nowadays, and some of them are still unhappy with the selection decisions.
“Having a large selection of players is a good problem. It keeps performance levels high and raises the level of competition. There will be some who will criticise your choices because the sport is so well-liked in India. According to Agarkar, the fan bases have grown several times in recent years.
The most recent controversy surrounding Agarkar’s term as chairperson is the inclusion of pacer Harshit Rana in the white-ball squads for the Australia series while Mohammed Shami was left out.
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