BCCI reportedly gave Ajit Agarkar full freedom to make major changes in the Indian team after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket.
Published: September 22, 2026, 9:31 AM IST
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Ajit Agarkar got BCCI’s free hand after Rohit, Kohli exit
Ajit Agarkar is no longer the chief of the men’s national selection committeeHowever, reports suggest that a lot happened behind the scenes before his exit.
There has been plenty of talk on social media, while one report said that the BCCI gave Agarkar the freedom to make big changes to the Indian team after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricketHowever, some things reportedly did not go as planned.
Agarkar was the chief selector when the Indian team saw several big changesGautam Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid as head coach, while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test and T20I cricket.
The Telegraph reported that the BCCI gave Agarkar the freedom to make important changes to the team, including decisions related to Rohit and Kohli’s Test retirementsAgarkar said that the two players decided to retire themselvesDuring his time as chief selector, the selection committee also dropped T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav from the T20I team.
Agarkar was expected to get a one-year extension and continue as chief selector until next year’s ODI World CupHowever, the plan later changed, and he was not given an extensionA PTI report said Agarkar was upset after the BCCI released a statement backing Rohit and denying reports that he would retire after the Lord’s Test.
“That was perhaps the day when Ajit knew that it would be very difficult for him to continueIn fact, he had no inkling that a media statement was issued by the BCCIHe understood that going forward, the call on big names won’t be his prerogative.”
People who know Agarkar well say that he makes cricket decisions honestly, just like head coach Gautam GambhirSome of his decisions work, while some do not.
The BCCI wanted him to take more time before making a decision on Rohit’s futureHowever, Agarkar felt that if Yashasvi Jaiswal was going to play in the ODI World Cup, he should get around 20 ODI matches to prepare.
Those supporting Rohit felt that he was scoring runs in every third ODI, which was not a bad recordBut Agarkar may have felt that there was no guarantee that the experienced Rohit would perform well in South Africa.
Agarkar may not have accepted one thingWhen it comes to big stars in Indian cricket, decisions about retirement or continuing are usually not made by the selection committeeSuch decisions are mostly taken by the BCCI and its officials.
