CHENNAI: While the top brass of the BCCI and two captains and coach were present at the meeting, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who was expected to join, was missing. When asked, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that Agarkar was out of town and could not join as he was out of station due to personal reasons for the meeting that was called on short notice. "This meeting was called at a very short notice and our head of the selection committee, he 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 our best efforts," Saikia told reporters.
The former all-rounder took over as chief selector in July 2023 and his tenure was supposed to come to an end this year. Ahead of this meeting, one of the possible discussion points was a potential extension for Agarkar till the end of the ODI World Cup next year. With Agarkar not attending the meeting, Saikia refrained from getting into specifics and said that his tenure was not discussed. "There is no such discussion in today's meeting," the BCCI secretary said.
Renewal of Agarkar's position has been a topic of speculation over the last few months. Though conflicting murmurs have emerged about his future as chief selector, there has been no official word on the matter from Agarkar and BCCI so far.
The Rohit jigsaw
Even after the England tour, where Saikia backed Rohit Sharma following reports on the former captain's end of road with the Indian team, there were speculation over the relationship between Agarkar and the board. The chief selector had remained non-committal over Rohit's place in the 2027 World Cup, apparently in line with head coach Gautam Gambhir, over the last two years. In the middle of the England tour, reports emerged that the third ODI against England would be his last. Rohit scored a century in the match after two low scores, following which Saikia had said that there has been no discussion on the former captain's future. "There are a lot of speculations going on in the media about Rohit Sharma's future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord's on Sunday," Saikia had stated.
Even on Thursday, Saikia said that there was no discussion about Rohit. “He is playing superbly in all matches. He scored 130 in the last match he played. So, what more do you want?” Saikia said. Going by Saikia's statement on Agarkar's future, the next meeting where the topic could be discussed and decided is at the BCCI Annual General meeting on September 18. The agenda for the meeting does not list it as a point of discussion, but it is not out of order for the BCCI to discuss the matter and take a call.
