Being the chief selector in cricket is a big responsibility. You're in charge of choosing the squad that is suitable for competing against top teams. If things go astray, they will get an earful and piles of pressure will land solely on them.
That has seemingly gotten to Indian selector, Ajit Agarkar, who has chosen to step down.
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar has decided not to seek an extension when his current contract ends on 4 October, paving the way for the BCCI to begin the search for his successor.
Agarkar’s future was a key talking point at the BCCI’s 95th Annual General Meeting, where member units authorised the office-bearers to take decisions regarding the selection committees.
"The office bearers have been authorised to take decisions on the matters concerning the selection committees," a senior BCCI official said after the meeting, without elaborating on Agarkar’s future.
Judging a selector only by trophies, however, misses the more interesting story. Selection changes careers: some players acquire permanence, leadership and repeated chances; while others move from the heart of the national side to its margins.
To measure that movement, an India Career Value Index, or ICVI, is used to score out of 100: 40 points for India involvement, 30 for international performance, 20 for trust at ICC tournaments and 10 for institutional standing through central contracts and leadership.
The ICVI is not a verdict on talent or whether a decision was "right;" it measures how embedded a player was within India’s structure at a particular point. For players who lost ground, the comparison is between their highest ICVI during Agarkar’s tenure and where they stand now. For beneficiaries, it is the change from July 2023, when Agarkar took charge, to the present.
The steepest falls: Shami, Chahal and Gaikwad
Mohammed Shami produces the most extraordinary negative swing. His ICVI peaked at 98 after he remained central to India’s ODI plans and held a Grade A contract and delivered two outstanding ICC tournaments. At the 2023 World Cup, Shami took 24 wickets in seven matches at 10.70; finishing as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker despite sitting out India’s first four games. At the 2025 Champions Trophy, he returned with nine wickets in five matches and was again named in the ICC’s Team of the Tournament.
Yet Shami hasn't played for India since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025. His exclusion persisted even after a 2025-26 domestic season in which he collected 69 wickets in 22 matches across the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, including 37 Ranji wickets at 16.72. He also went from Grade A in 2024-25 to no central contract in 2025-26; taking his ICVI from 98 at its peak to zero now.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s decline is less spectacular numerically but cleaner as a selection story. He was still an active India T20I bowler when Agarkar took charge and played all five matches in the West Indies in August 2023; taking five wickets. When that series ended, Chahal had 96 wickets in 80 T20Is and 121 in 72 ODIs; the final match of that tour, on 13 August 2023, remains his most recent international appearance.
Chahal then missed the 2023 ODI World Cup, returned to the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup but didn't play and disappeared again. Agarkar had explained his 2023 Asia Cup omission by pointing to Axar Patel’s batting value and saying Kuldeep Yadav was slightly ahead in the wrist-spin race. Chahal’s ICVI falls from 43 early in the tenure to zero now; with no route back into the international side despite remaining a high-level specialist.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is different because the numbers argue not that his performance collapsed but that his opportunity did. Across his T20Is in 2023 and 2024, Gaikwad scored 498 runs at an average of 62.25 and a strike rate of 150. Against Australia in late 2023, he topped the series with 223 runs at 55.75 and a strike rate of 159.28; while his last stretch against Zimbabwe strengthened rather than weakened his case.
His last T20I nevertheless came on 13 Jul 2024. Gaikwad remains centrally contracted in Grade C and has returned to the ODI squad, so his career has not vanished in the Chahal sense but his T20I standing has. His ICVI drops from a peak of 65 — when he was producing elite numbers and had captained India at the Asian Games — to 23 now.
The biggest gains: Abhishek, Varun and Tilak
If Shami defines the steepest fall; Abhishek Sharma defines the opposite extreme. He had never played international cricket when Agarkar took over, giving him a starting ICVI of zero.
Since debuting in July 2024, Abhishek has reached 1 858 T20I runs in 59 matches at a strike rate of 194.55; with three hundreds and 12 fifties. His peak ICC rating of 931 remains the highest ever achieved by a men’s T20I batter.
That combination of sustained selection and extraordinary scoring speed pushes Abhishek’s present ICVI to 93. The significance isn't simply that the selectors found an opener but that they repeatedly backed a high-variance method. His 30-ball hundred against Afghanistan this week only underlined how completely India’s T20 identity has moved towards his kind of batting.
Varun Chakaravarthy’s rise is equally dramatic because his international career had appeared finished. Before his recall in October 2024, he had played six T20Is, taken only two wickets and then spent 1 066 days outside the India side.
Agarkar’s committee reopened the door; Varun subsequently took nine wickets in three matches at the 2025 Champions Trophy at 15.10 and an economy of 4.53; before finishing joint-highest wicket-taker at the 2026 T20 World Cup with 14.
Varun also moved from no central contract at the start of the tenure to Grade C and became a first-choice white-ball spinner whenever available. His ICVI moves from zero in July 2023 to 93, level with Abhishek. In selection terms, there has been no more successful reclamation project during Agarkar’s period.
Tilak Varma completes the top three. He was uncapped when Agarkar took charge and received his maiden T20I call-up in the first squad announced after the new chairman’s appointment. Three years later, Tilak has 1 645 T20I runs at 44.45 and a strike rate of 145.18; including successive hundreds in South Africa, 207 runs at the 2026 T20 World Cup and an unbeaten 69 in the 2025 Asia Cup final.
Tilak has also moved beyond merely being selected. He is now India’s T20I vice-captain and holds a Grade C contract, lifting his ICVI from zero to 84. Agarkar’s committee didn't inherit him as an established international; it helped turn him into part of the format’s leadership core.
Two careers sit just outside these extremes. Sanju Samson, after years of intermittent selection, scored three T20I hundreds in 2024 and then produced 321 runs in five innings at 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37 to become Player of the Tournament at the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Ishan Kishan offers a different complexity: he plunged out of India’s plans and lost his contract, then returned spectacularly enough to become one of the central figures of the 2026 side.
That may be the clearest way to remember Agarkar’s tenure. It wasn't merely a period in which India won trophies; it was one in which selection capital moved quickly and sometimes brutally.
Shami, Chahal and Gaikwad show how rapidly established value could evaporate while Abhishek, Varun and Tilak show how aggressively the same committee was prepared to invest in a different kind of player.
Ajit Agarkar's tenure is defined by historic ICC success
Agarkar was appointed to head the men's senior selection committee in July 2023. What followed was an ICC trophy haul India hadn't seen in over a decade.
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024: Under Agarkar's watch, India ended their 11-year wait for an ICC title. The Men in Blue went unbeaten throughout the tournament in the West Indies and USA and emerged triumphant against South Africa in a pulsating final in Barbados.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: The momentum continued into the 50-over format. India lifted the Champions Trophy the following year, making it back-to-back major ICC titles under Agarkar's selection committee.
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: History was made on home soil when India became the first nation to successfully defend the Men's T20 World Cup title; completing back-to-back T20 World Cup victories.
Asia Cup 2023 (ODI): India swept Sri Lanka in the continental final in Colombo, bowling the hosts out for a meagre 50.
Asia Cup 2025 (T20): India retained the Asian title in the T20 format to make it consecutive Asia Cup triumphs under the same selection regime.
Asian Games Gold Medal, Hangzhou 2023: A Ruturaj Gaikwad-captained second-string squad selected by the Agarkar-led committee claimed gold in the men's T20 tournament. It was a title that was eventually awarded based on superior ranking after the final against Afghanistan was washed out.
The one significant runner-up finish during this period was the 2023 ODI World Cup, where India went through the entire tournament unbeaten before losing the final to Australia in Ahmedabad.
News of Agarkar's impending exit triggered a massive divide among Indian cricket supporters; with fans clashing online over whether his ruthless stint was a success or a failure.
Critics of Agarkar pulled no punches, accusing him of favoritism, poor communication, and unnecessary friction with senior players. One fan slammed his handling of team leadership and squad management.
"Ajit Agarkar got Rohit Sharma removed from captaincy, succeeded in it and felt that he was the most powerful man in Indian cricket. But his arrogance went for a toss when he wasn’t allowed to remove Rohit without any valid reason," they wrote.
He continued, "Also all his promises of having press conferences after every selection or giving importance to domestic cricket fell flat. Rather than watching domestic games from stadium, he was travelling on international tours with Indian team. Great riddance!" they wrote.
Another supporter was equally harsh on the selection criteria used during his tenure. "Good Riddance. Made a lot of selections NOT based on merit," they wrote.
A third critic called out what they perceived as biased decision-making under the guise of ruthlessness. "Decisions taken on bias and favouritism cannot be disguised as ruthless, bold decisions. F**k off Agarkar you won't be missed!" they wrote.
Others pointed out how many series the national team lost under him. "He was at the helm when India suffered the biggest embarrasments 0-3 bashing vs NZ, 0-2 bashing vs SA, 0-2 bashing vs IRE, 0-4 bashing vs ENG," they wrote.
Some still remained angry at what they believe to be forced retirement of senior players like Kohli and Rohit.
"The forced retirement to senior players who still had a lot to offer, senior bowlers being sidelined. Please count that too brother...."
They continued how he ruined the Indian ODI team. "He has single handedly destroyed the team. Hope you understand the meaning of transition. Aise halaath hai ki either a bowler or batsman is injured during a test series.. Absolute disgrace," they wrote.
Not everyone supported the decision. Many supporters of the outgoing chief selector praised his transparency, vision and readiness to make tough calls. Veteran analyst Makarand Waingankar argued that changing leadership mid-cycle makes little sense.
"With WTC and World Cup at stake it will be foolish to change the Chief Selector Agarkar at this stage because the macro and micro plans between him, his colleagues, coach, senior players and VVS Laxman are being nicely executed," he noted.
Another fan lauded his forward-thinking approach to squad construction.
"Agree...his way might hurt fcs ..but his thinking was always top class . absolute visionary...if that rohit incident had something to do with him going out then that's very sad," they wrote.
A third supporter felt Agarkar's departure would be a massive loss for Indian cricket, highlighting his clear press explanations.
"If Agarkar is leaving as chief selector, it's India's loss. One of the best selectors India has had (personally, can't say with authority for pre-2000 period). It's a shame that the excellent squads picked didn't quite reflect in many of the XIs India eventually put out on the field."
They continued, "Even when there were disagreements from many, including me (which is inevitable), Agarkar clarified in detail to the press the thinking behind many of the choices," they wrote.
Others hailed him as the best selector. "His selector period is the best in Indian cricket history . Often the merit selection . Apart from Lord Thakur,"they wrote. They hilariously pinned Thakur as the only bad selection in Agarkar's selection.
One last supporter pointed out Agarkar's legacy as a selector. "This. People will say that Agarkar's biggest legacy was his tough decisions, but for me, it was his transparency. We forget Chetan Sharma never did press conferences. We'd get squads at 11pm and debate for hours with no explanation. It wasn't easy to change it but Agarkar did," he wrote
Ajit Agarkar is gone - officially after 4 October - and his departure has once again turned the spotlight on Rohit Sharma.
It is widely believed that a fallout over Rohit’s future contributed to Agarkar not seeking another extension as chief selector. He was given one in June but the way things panned out in England during India’s ODI series in July; the former all-rounder chose not to continue. Agarkar is leaving on his own terms after communicating his decision to the BCCI. Rohit, too, intends to leave on his own terms as a player.
Someone who scored 138 in his last international innings - the very thought that he should hang up his boots appears outlandish. "He (Rohit) is playing superbly in all the matches," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told reporters after the cricket board’s review meeting earlier this month. "So what more (do) you want? In the last match, he scored 138 runs. So why is there speculation? I do not want to give some fodder for the speculators."
From the BCCI’s perspective, the assessment is correct. Also, the hard numbers back Rohit. Since October last year, the former India captain has scored 727 runs, including two centuries, in 15 ODIs. His average of 51.92 during this period is higher than his career average of 48.95. Then again, the selectors’ job is to go beyond the arid numbers.
According to a source in the know, Agarkar and his panel wanted to move on from Rohit because they were sceptical about the future — how the opener would shape up at the 2027 World Cup. By then, he would be 40-plus.
"Look, there’s no doubt that Rohit has scored runs and centuries," said the source. "But if you look at it, those hundreds, in Australia and England, came in dead rubbers when India had already lost the series. It needs to be taken into account whether scoring in the third match of every series contributes handsomely to the team’s cause. Also, Yashasvi Jaiswal is ready and he needs to be given game time in the lead-up to the World Cup."
This was the thought process when the selectors informed Rohit of their decision in England. The turn of events that followed didn't go down well with Agarkar; it is learnt. Apart from runs, there was a fitness aspect too, which prompted the selectors to take the call.
"He is 39, with a question mark over his fitness," said the source. "Can he convert the ones into twos? Even in the last IPL, he suffered a hamstring injury that saw him miss four matches on the spin. After coming back, he played as an Impact Sub. The next ODI World Cup is still more than a year away. Is there a guarantee that he will last until then? And if, in case, something happens closer to the World Cup, then Jaiswal would be undercooked going into the showpiece event unless he is given the required bedding-in period. Particularly on the fitness issue, the selectors have de-hyphenated Rohit and Virat Kohli."
The Rohit backers, too, have their logic. To start with, age is just a number and, given the way he has been performing in tough conditions, the great player is well within his rights to believe that he still has top-flight cricket left in him. Also, conditions in South Africa will not be completely lopsided in favour of the batsmen, and Rohit’s skill set, and more importantly, his experience, could be invaluable for the team.
Against this backdrop, the ODI series against the West Indies, starting on 27 September, is approaching and once again, Rohit is there to make a point with the bat. Yet again, it is about proving himself right from the start of the series. Champions, though, revel in such scenarios, and Rohit is no different.
Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel has emerged as a strong candidate to replace Ajit Agarkar as the men's senior selection committee chairman if the incumbent and the BCCI don't reach an extension agreement.
TimesofIndia.com has learnt that Parthiv's name has been circulating in Indian cricket's power corridors for the last six months when key figures were preparing for life after Agarkar. While an extension for the Mumbaikar wasn't off the table back then; a strong cosensus had been reached on Parthiv as the possible successor for the top job.
If everything falls into place, Parthiv will be the most senior member of the panel with 25 Tests. SS Das played 23 Tests, RP Singh made 14 appearances while Pragyan Ojha and Ajay Ratra had 24 and 6 caps, respectively. The Indian Cricket Board has remained tight-lipped on the matter but clarity could be expected in the coming weeks.
Indian cricket is staring at a crucial 12 months in the build-up to the 2027 edition of the ODI World Cup and the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. While a section believes continuity with Agarkar is need of the hour, there are some influential voices keen to hand the reigns to Parthiv.
The former India keeper is currently serving as assistant and batting coach at Gujarat Titans (GT) and commentating when his schedule permits. It is understood that Parthiv was likely to get a bigger role in the IPL franchise from the next cycle but if the selector role materialises, GT will probably have to explore different options.
This upcoming resignation is an on-the-fence matter. You either like what Agarkar did or you didn't. To me, it's looks like his focus was on the ODI and T20 formats. They were heavily successful. The Test side was and (by no offence) continues to be poor and struggles to get positive results.
I'm with those who criticised Agarkar. His choices have hindered India. It can only be hoped that Patel or whoever succeeds Agarkar, will help improve the team.