Ajit Agarkar informs BCCI he will step down as chief selector
Ajit Agarkar informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday that he does not intend to continue as chief selector, and the issue was taken up at the board's 95th Annual General Meeting on September 18, 2026. Member units at the AGM authorised office-bearers to decide on matters concerning the selection committees as Agarkar prepares to leave the post.
Agarkar's contract as chairman of selectors is due to expire on October 4, and his future in the role had been the subject of discussion at the meeting. Earlier on Friday, the member units of the BCCI authorised the office-bearers to take a call on chairman of selectors Agarkar's future in the role during the Annual General Meeting here. The incumbent chairman of selectors, Agarkar, has remained at the centre of attention as his contract is set to end on October 4.
Sources close to Agarkar told the board that he has already intimated he does not intend to continue in the post, leading the BCCI to initiate a search for a new chief selector. "The office bearers have been authorised to take decisions on the matters concerning the selection committees," a senior BCCI official said at the end of the meeting.
The BCCI is also moving to appoint replacements for the junior selection committee, with all five positions to be filled as the current selectors' tenures near expiry. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said, "We have received a very large number of applicants and once the shortlisting is completed, then we will give it to our cricket committee," he said.
Saikia provided a timeline for the junior selection committee process and noted the impending end of the current panel's term. "They will be the competent authority to select for the junior selection committee, so that process is going on, and we are trying to complete it within the next 10-15 days time because all the five (current) selectors, their tenure is going to be over very soon," he added.
On the coaching front, Saikia confirmed a temporary appointment for the national team's fielding coach and said his future will depend on performance and team management feedback. "Regarding the fielding coach of Indian team, we have appointed him for a short time, who is also a part of our COE as a fielding coach in Bangalore," Saikia told reporters after the AGM. "We will be assessing his performance and as per the opinion given by the concerned persons in the team management, we will take a decision to continue his engagement as a fielding coach of the Indian team. That final decision is yet to be taken."
The AGM, attended by affiliated state member boards and figures including former India captain Sourav Ganguly and ex-pacer Venkatesh Prasad, authorised office-bearers to finalise selection committee appointments; the BCCI aims to complete the junior selection shortlisting and submit recommendations to the cricket committee within the next 10-15 days while Agarkar's contract runs until October 4.
