Ajit Agarkar was conspicuous by his absence from the high-level review meeting in Mumbai – his hometown – on Thursday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made some efforts to clarify that there was nothing to be read into his non-participation in the meeting. But questions remained.
“Today, he was out of station, so he could not be part of the meeting. The meeting was called at very short notice, and our selection committee chairman, Ajit, was not in town. So he could not join the meeting, and was in an area where he could not join online as well, despite our best efforts,” BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia commented.
A few days ago, the chief selector himself held an online selection committee meeting to select the T20I squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan. But on Thursday, he couldn’t even get online.
The BCCI secretary said: “Today, we did not have any selection meeting. There was no such discussion in today’s meeting.” Despite the BCCI secretary’s categorical assurance, social media exploded with speculation about Agarkar’s future. Some social media users even claimed he was on his way out.
When the BCCI Secretary says something with absolute clarity, it would be inappropriate to draw a different conclusion. However, Agarkar’s absence still raises curiosity. Questions have been raised about his stance in particular since the Rohit Sharma incident, when the selectors reportedly asked the former captain to retire, only for the BCCI to intervene.
He is currently said to be out of town, but several sources insist that no changes are expected to the selection committee and that Agarkar will complete his term which ends next July. It is possible that he could receive an extension until the World Cup finals in October-November 2027, although this cannot be independently verified.
“I don’t want to give any fodder to speculators,” Saikia said.
He is expected to feature in the Duleep Trophy final, starting September 6. He is said to be in Chennai for the five-day red-ball match, along with two of his teammates. Two other selectors are expected to be sent to Delhi for the T20I series against Afghanistan.
Agarkar was hard to miss during the just-concluded Test series in Sri Lanka. Cameras caught him repeatedly during both tests. Also on Thursday, he was hard to miss, even though the cameras couldn’t catch him.
