BCCI men’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar skipping the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s review meeting in early September is now being seen as a ‘blessing in disguise’. Accoridng to The Telegraph,
the board was anticipating a heated clash between him and former India teammate VVS Laxman, who is the chief of the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, over the duo’s long-marinating differences.Agarkar’s differences with Laxman have been cited as one of the many reasons behind his reluctance to accept an extension to his contract, which ends this month. However, the report suggests that the rift was worse than originally thought, with the duo described as ‘poles apart’ on decisions of the functioning of the CoE and the players’ rehabilitation
at the centre.
Agarkar is said to be miffed by the recurring injuries to senior players. At one time, as many as a dozen starting-level players were unavailable because they were doing rehab at CoE, while there were murmurs of some being rushed back, and the selectors not being in loop about the rehab programmes.
Recently, head coach Gautam Gambhir also spoke about the issue, saying the long list was not ‘fair’ on Shubman Gill.
“If I give you an honest answer, then yes (it is a problem). Especially in Test cricket and ODI cricket, because the next World Cup is in the ODI format. And more importantly, it’s not fair on a young captain as well if he doesn’t get the best team, playing consistently and regularly and not being on the path consistently,” he said in a press conference.
“That’s why I have to be dead honest. Yes, as a coach, I can take all the criticisms, but for me, I think it is important for Shubman to get the best team at 11 as many times as he can in red ball and in white ball formats as well,” Gambhir added.
Laxman regularly defended the CoE, saying it’s ambit was more than just injury management, and the BCCI justified the delay in appointing a head of Sports Science, with the search still ongoing.
Eventually, though, Agarkar skipped the meeting. While the BCCI said he was unavailable due to logistical reasons, it was later claimed that he could have attended it online, had he chosen to.
