Ajit Agarkar is set to receive a tenure extension as BCCI’s Chairman of Selectors until June 2027. Originally, his stint is set to end in June 2027.
Agarkar
had been appointed to the post in July 2023. Under his leadership, the Indian team reached the finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and also lifted back-to-back T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, along with victory in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
With the ODI World Cup to be played in October and November next year, the BCCI is looking to retain Agarkar due to his track record of having taken tough calls. BCCI are also looking for continuity selectors, like RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha are yet to complete a year at the job.
Under Agarkar’s tenure, the team had a seamless transition and was fearless in taking bold decisions. The board felt he should continue. The BCCI officer bearers will be speaking to him on the sidelines of IPL games to update him,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Agarkar has had to oversee a tumultuous few years with the Test team. One of the major concerns he has to deal with is the Indian batters’ ability to play spin at home, with a 3-0 series loss against New Zealand in late 2024 and a 2-0 loss against South Africa in late 2025.
His tenure also coincided with the retirement of R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, stalwarts of the red-ball format for India. He oversaw the successful appointment of Shubman Gill as red-ball skipper, who led India to a 2-2 series draw in England, and was prolific with the bat.
Agarkar's influence also extends to the white-ball team. The former Indian speedster was responsible for two vital calls - first being the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain, and second, the recall of Ishan Kishan to the squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“Two keepers at the top (Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan), that’s the way we want to try, and the team management will eventually decide what kind of combinations they want to play. Rinku (Singh) has come in, who gives us a little bit more depth in the lower middle order. It’s about combinations, so someone has to miss out, and unfortunately, it is Gill at this point,” Agarkar had said before the T20 World Cup.
Kishan had fallen out with the BCCI in 2023, after having taken a "mental break" and being slow to return to domestic cricket. He went back to the domestic circuit in 2025 and finished the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy as the leading run-scorer as he led Jharkhand to the title. The decision raised a lot of eyebrows as Kishan took the place of Shubman Gill, but repaid the faith in full with 317 runs at a strike rate of 193.29 in India’s victorious run.
