Since assuming the role, Ajit Agarkar, the head of the All India Senior Selection Committee, has been under intense scrutiny. Making sure that Indian cricket players compete in domestic competitions for their states when they are not on national duty was one of his most noteworthy decisions after being appointed top selector. This is better understood by star batters Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.
However, what if Agarkar himself watched cricket in his home country? Like other bosses, Agarkar has presented himself as an exception to the decision. The former Mumbai cricket player last went to a Ranji match when Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were playing in the 2024–25 season. After the batter reached 151, he included Devdutt Padikkal in the squad for the England series played at home that year.
However, other from that, Ajit Agarkar has long avoided the story and has been watching domestic games himself. Additionally, the outcomes have been unfavourable. In their last six Test series, India has only triumphed twice, once against Bangladesh and once against the West Indies. Aside from that, India recently suffered a whitewash at the hands of South Africa, lost to Australia, drew with England away, and lost to New Zealand at home.
While head coach Gautam Gambhir and his coaching staff received most of the criticism, Ajit Agarkar should also be held equally accountable for failing to select Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran to bat at the No. 3 position following Sai Sudharsan’s mediocre introduction to Test cricket while the proven performers were ignored.
A senior BCCI official was recently questioned about Ajit Agarkar actions in not going to domestic cricket matches, even though the players are currently under some type of mandate to play for their state teams. The official fully supported Ajit Agarkar, stating that the BCCI app or website, which, incidentally, does not even stream every match of the most prestigious event, allows selectors to keep track of matches.
The BCCI office bearer stated, “We will speak to the selectors too (on the Test debacle) and as far as watching domestic games is concerned, every score comes on the app,” according to The Times of India.
Nevertheless, Ajit Agarkar has previously been in doubtful circumstances.
He was ultimately compelled to resign from his position as chief selector of Mumbai because he had not gone to enough local matches to choose the starting lineup. The Mumbai Cricket Association nearly decided to terminate Agarkar as a result of the harsh criticism, making it impossible for him to stay with the team.
However, when the world is looking, no post is safe, and the BCC chief selector is no exception. allowed the unfavourable outcomes for the team, he may be allowed a bit more time before the eventual action is taken.
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