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Ajit Agarkar may attend final meeting as BCCI chief selector amid uncertainty over contract extension: Report
Ajit Agarkar will attend Wednesday's selection meeting for the West Indies series, which could be his final assignment as BCCI chief selector under his current contract.
Ajit Agarkar is set to attend the BCCI selection committee meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, with the former India cricketer facing the possibility that it could be his final assignment as chairman of the senior men’s selection committee.
The selectors are scheduled to pick India’s squads for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies, as well as the Irani Cup squad. The meeting comes a day after India’s second T20I against Afghanistan and ahead of the West Indies’ tour of India, which begins on 27 September.
According to a PTI report, the meeting will be Agarkar’s last assignment under his current contract. His contract is set to run until 4 October. While he remains eligible for a further one-year extension, the BCCI, however, has not publicly confirmed whether Agarkar will continue beyond the current period.
According to the report, Agarkar has informed sources that he is likely to send an email to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, thanking the board for the opportunity to work as chief selector for three years.
Agarkar was appointed chairman of the senior men's selection committee on 4 July 2023, after the Cricket Advisory Committee recommended him for the position. He replaced Chetan Sharma at the head of the selection panel.
His original contract was subsequently renewed, and in April 2026, the BCCI renewed it for another year. The renewal kept Agarkar in charge as the board looked towards the ODI World Cup 2027.
The uncertainty over his future, however, has increased in recent weeks. Agarkar was absent from the BCCI's review meeting in Mumbai on 3 September, which was attended by head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill, T20I captain Shreyas Iyer and BCCI Centre of Excellence head VVS Laxman.
BCCI secretary Saikia subsequently said that Agarkar was out of town when the meeting was called at short notice and could not participate online due to connectivity issues.
"Today he was out of station. He could not be a part of the meeting because this meeting was called at a very short notice, and our head of the selection committee was not in town, so he could not join it. He was in such an area that he could not join online also, in spite of all these efforts,” Saikia had told reporters after the meeting in Mumbai.
The uncertainty surrounding Ajit Agarkar's future as BCCI chief selector also comes after a period in which the handling of Rohit Sharma's ODI future attracted considerable attention.
Reports during India's England tour suggested that Rohit had been informed that the Lord's ODI in July could be his final appearance for India, although BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia later denied that any such decision had been taken.
PTI subsequently reported that the BCCI's top brass was unhappy with the manner in which the issue had been handled, with Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir among those mentioned in the report.
However, the BCCI has not officially stated that the Rohit episode was responsible for any decision regarding Agarkar's position or contract. Agarkar's current contract runs until 4 October, leaving his continuation beyond that date subject to a decision from the board, despite the contract renewal.
If Wednesday does prove to be Agarkar's final selection meeting, the panel will have several decisions to make for the West Indies series.
India are scheduled to play three ODIs against the West Indies, beginning in Thiruvananthapuram on 27 September. The second ODI will be played in Guwahati on 30 September, followed by the third match in Mullanpur on 3 October.
PTI reported that KL Rahul could be considered for the vice-captaincy in the ODI series, as regular deputy Shreyas Iyer will be with India's Asian Games squad in Japan. Ishan Kishan is also unavailable because of his Asian Games commitments.
The selection committee is also expected to consider the second wicketkeeper's position behind Rahul, with Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel among the options. The report added that Pant could also captain the Rest of India side in the Irani Cup if he is not selected for the ODI squad.
Hardik Pandya's availability is another selection issue. PTI reported that he was expected to regain fitness for competitive white-ball cricket from 20 September, although his selection for the West Indies ODIs would depend on his fitness and the selectors' decision.
PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.