New Delhi : Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the senior men's selection committee, notably missed a significant BCCI review meeting discussing India's recent limited-overs tour performances and player fitness, sparking questions about his future.
Ajit Agarkar, chief selector, missed a crucial BCCI review meeting concerning India's recent limited-overs tour performances.
His absence was attributed to being out of station and unable to join online at short notice.
The meeting reviewed India's losses to Ireland and England and discussed player fitness and injuries.
Despite his contract ending in September, there was no discussion regarding Agarkar's extension during the meeting.
Agarkar's tenure has seen India reach the 2023 ODI World Cup final and win two T20 World Cups (2024, 2026).
The chairman of the senior men's selection committee Ajit Agarkar on Thursday missed the BCCI's review meeting of India's limited-overs tours of Ireland and England, attracting plenty of attention.
India had suffered a shocking 0-2 defeat to Ireland in the two-match series before the tour of England, where they lost the five-match T20I series 1-4 and suffered a 1-2 loss in the ODI series.
The board held a review meeting, which Saikia said was called at a short notice, at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
It was also attended by Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer, head coach Gautam Gambhir, director of cricket at the Centre of Excellence VVS Laxman, and the board's officials.
Agarkar, according to Saikia, was not in town and was not able to join the meeting via video conferencing as well.
"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. Our head of the selection committee, Ajit, was not in town so he could not join it. He was in such area that he could not join online also in spite of our best efforts," Saikia told reporters.
Saikia said there was no discussion on the extension of contract for chief Agarkar, whose contract runs till the end of September.
"There was no such discussion in today's meeting," Saikia replied when asked if there was any discussion on the matter of the contract extension.
The BCCI secretary maintained that the review meeting was focussed only on the performances on Ireland and England tours, and on the matter of fitness and frequent injury to players.
With Agarkar as the chairman of the selection committee, India had reached the final of the ODI World Cup in 2023 while the team won the T20 World Cup two consecutive times in 2024 and 2026.
His tenure has also seen the retirement of former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from Tests and T20I formats, along with the retirement of spin great Ravichandran Ashwin.
