Bond with Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid among three reasons why Ajit Agarkar was appointed chief selector

“The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), consisting of Ms Sulakshana Naik, Mr Ashok Malhotra, and Mr Jatin Paranjape, interviewed applicants for the position of one selector in the Men’s Selection Committee. The three-member CAC has unanimously recommended Mr Ajit Agarkar for the said position,” a BCCI release said late evening on April 4.

The selection of Agarkar has received a warm welcome from everyone including former cricketers, experts and the fans. Following are the three reasons why Ajit Agarkar was named the new Chairman of the Selection Committee.

High stature and international experience

Not many high-profile former cricketers in the past have applied for the role due to low remuneration. The chief selector reportedly gets a salary of Rs 1 crore per year. As per the latest media reports, the BCCI has increased it to Rs 3 crore to rope in Agarkar who is a regular on the commentary panels these days.

Bringing in Agarkar will raise the profile of the entire five-member committee which was highly inexperienced earlier. The likes of Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola, Sridharan Sharath played 27, 7, 21 and 0 matches respectively for India. Their total combined experience of 55 matches is dwarfed massively by 26 Tests, 191 ODIs, and four T20Is played alone by Agarkar.

Agarkar is the first Indian team selector who has played T20I cricket for India. He was part of the India team which won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007. He understands each format of the game.

Holding onto a view and fighting for it against the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid would have been tough tasks for the previous selection panel. Agarkar can help eliminate any such issues now and raise the self-esteem level of the panel.

Agarkar is comparatively young at 45 years of age and the likes of Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid have played with him. The former Mumbai cricketer, who played 110 first-class matches, is an astute reader of the game. His international experience and high stature will keep the players on their feet.

Prior experience as selector, coach and commentator

Ajit Agarkar was the chief selector for Mumbai until 2019. He had applied for Team India’s selector’s post in 2020 but was not picked by the BCCI. Also, Agarkar was part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) coaching setup and understands what it takes to make a team by selecting the right player at the right time. His association with the likes of Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson must have helped him in picking their brains as well.

His commentary stints have made him an even more astute reader of the game and he can bring his knowledge and observations into practicality now.

His age and familiarity with current crop of cricketers

The 45-year-old has played under head coach Rahul Dravid for India and has guided a young Rohit Sharma while playing as his captain in the Mumbai squad. In fact, Agarkar and Rohit also were part of India’s squad in the T20 World Cup 2007.

In his debut IPL match. KKR’s Agarkar was up against RCB which was featuring Virat Kohli. He played in the IPL till 2013 and is very familiar with how the modern crop of Indian cricketers operate, feel and react to different circumstances.

Agarkar shares close relationships with India legends including Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. Coming from an influential circle, Agarkar can come up with an improved decision making during crucial team selection matters.

The same factors can come very handy for the selection committee in helping the Indian team to achieve their goal of ending the ICC title drought which is into its 11th year now.