The former Indian pacer was brought in for the role by the apex body of Indian cricket as a replacement for Chetan Sharma, who was relieved of his role earlier this year.
Agarkar, who has played 26 Tests and 191 ODIs for India, will be holding the fort for the coming year or so. The 45-year-old was the sole candidate interviewed by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which was given the responsibility to pick the chief selector.
Agarkar will earn INR 3 crore as the chief selector for BCCI, whereas whether the other selectors will get a pay rise is yet to be known. Along with Agarkar, the four other selectors are – Shiv Sundar Das (Central), Subroto Banerjee (East), Salil Ankola (West) and Sridharan Sharath (South).
But Agarkar’s appointment will be fresh air to many players who have remained outcasts in the previous stint of Chetan Sharma and co. Although apart from Agarkar, the entire panel remains same, it will still be a positive note to pick for the fringe players.
Sarfaraz Khan can be one of the major beneficiaries of Agarkar’s election. The Mumbai batter has been repeatedly overlooked in the recent past by the Indian selectors. The Chetan Sharma-led team left him out, while the other selectors overlooked him for the upcoming West Indies tour.
Ajit Agarkar has been appointed as the Chief Selector of team India. pic.twitter.com/1JxjcVCdcS
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 4, 2023
Khan has been a serial run scorer for Mumbai in domestic cricket for the past couple of seasons, and highly deserves a spot in the Indian team. But Agarkar’s inclusion at the helm can turn the tide for the youngster, who may have the crucial backing from his fellow Mumbaikar.
Although Sarfaraz’s attitude and discipline have been blamed for his India team denials, it is to be seen how the new chief measures such a talented player.
Agarkar will have to take a few more bold decisions along the way, and one of them may well be the gradual removal of the veterans from the limited-overs setup.
After India’s WTC Final loss against Australia, there have been calls for Rohit Sharma’s expulsion as well. The veteran player has managed to hold on to his seat for the time being and may warrant backing from Agarkar in coming days. It is to be seen how much leeway Rohit and other experienced players get from the new Indian chief selector if the results are not satisfactory.
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