Ajit Agarkar’s tenure as the BCCI Chief Selector ended last month, with the former India all-rounder not seeking an extension. Although, there were speculations over whether Agarkar would be considered for at least one more year, the BCCI’s invitation for applications on Tuesday to fill the vacant post cleared the air.
Given the responsibility of leading a five-member BCCI selection committee in 2023, has played an instrumental role in reviving Indian cricket as one of the dominating teams in men’s cricket. India head coach and the BCCI thanked for his services.
“Dear Ajit Bhai, an absolute honour to work with you. Those 3 ICC trophies are testimony of your conviction: Team first & Team ahead, always.. I must say, History will be kinder to you. Thank you for everything. My heartfelt wishes for your future endeavours!!” Gambhir wrote on X.
Taking to X, the wrote, “A tenure marked by some truly special moments for Indian cricket — three ICC trophies, two Asia Cup titles and back-to-back Asian Games Gold medals, along with a run to the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Thank you, Mr Ajit Agarkar @imAagarkar, for your commitment, conviction and contribution as Chairman of the Men’s Selection Committee. Wishing you the very best for the journey ahead.”
Agarkar entered the scene just a few months after India exited the 2022 T20 World Cup in the semifinals. Upon taking the charge, Agarkar introduced clear and structural changes in white-ball and red-ball setups, and played a huge part in implementing the rule that all the centrally-contracted players, must play in domestic cricket.
His first major success came at the 2023 Asia Cup, when India crushed Sri Lanka in the final to win the title. A couple of months later, the Men in Blue put on an extraordinary display at the ODI World Cup at home, winning 10 matches on the trot, before losing the final to Australia in Ahmedabad.
During Agarkar’s tenure, the Indian men’s team won three ICC trophies – T20 World Cup in 2024, the ICC in 2025 and the T20 World Cup in 2026. In 2025, India had also won the Asia Cup in Dubai. Not to forget, two Asian Games gold also came during Agarkar’s stay.
Not just winning trophies, it was during Agarkar’s tenure, India handed debuts to promising talents such as , Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel and backed them to cement their places in the national set-up. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also made his India debut during Agarkar’s tenure.
While Indian cricket reached unprecedented heights with three ICC trophies in two years, he also had his share of lows. In 2024, India lost rare 1-2 loss in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. The then Rohit-Sharma led side suffered the most in red-ball cricket, losing to New Zealand (0-3 in 2024), followed by a 1-4 drubbing in the in Australia.
In the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, India lost to South Africa in both the Tests, thus losing crucial WTC points.
Besides sharing the highs and lows, Agarkar is also subjected to several controversial decisions during his tenure as players like and Ajinkya Rahane quit the game after being waiting in the wings for good three years, despite performing at the domestic level consistently.
It was Agarkar-led committee’s decision to drop -winning captain Suryakumar Yadav from the set-up, a decision that was heavily criticised by former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin. Incidentally, Ashwin also quit international cricket during Agarkar’s stay.
The major controversy during Agarkar’s tenure has been his tussle with pacer , who is out of the team since 2025. While Shami has proved his worth with consistent performances for Bengal in domestic cricket even at the age of 35, Agarkar maintained that the veteran pacer wasn’t up to the mark as far as the hos fitness is concerned.
