The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of former Indian International Ajit Agarkar as the chairman of selectors of India's senior cricket team. The appointment comes after the Cricket Advisory Committee unanimously recommended Agarkar for the top post in the selection panel.
"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," BCCI further wrote in a statement on social media.
Agarkar was the frontrunner for the post. Notably, the former International was previously the chief selector of the senior Mumbai team and also took the coaching duties for IPL side Delhi Capitals. He now takes the top post in the Indian men's selection committee after it fell vacant following Chetan Sharma's resignation in February. The selection panel now includes Ajit Agarkar (Chairperson), Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola, Sridharan Sharath.
"Following his playing career, he was appointed as the Chief Selector for the senior Mumbai Team and undertook coaching responsibilities with the Delhi Capitals. The committee further recommended Mr Agarkar for the role of Chairperson of the Men’s Selection Committee based on seniority (total number of Test matches)," BCCI further wrote.
During his playing days, Agarkar has represented India in 191 ODIs, 26 Tests and 4 T20Is. Agarkar was in India's squad for the 2007 T20 World Cup victory and he also has a couple of jaw-dropping records to his name. The fast bowler has the record for the fastest hundred hit by an Indian batter in ODIs. He also registered the record for fastest to 50 wickets in ODIs, which he took in just 23 matches.
Meanwhile, Agarkar and his team will be equipped with the task of selecting India's T20 team for the upcoming series against West Indies. The Test and ODI teams were earlier out but the squad for the five-match series is yet to be announced by the selection panel.
