BCCI Interviews Five For The Selection Panel Seat Agarkar Left

The BCCI has interviewed five candidates for the senior selection panel seat left by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, according to reports in Sportstar and Hindustan Times. The interviews were held on Thursday, mostly online. Applications had closed the day before. The board has announced nothing yet. Whoever is picked may also end up chairing the panel, and that is decided by an arithmetic rule rather than a vote.

The seat and the timetable

Agarkar's term as chief selector ran out on 4 October. Accounts of the exit differ. Sportstar reported that he chose not to seek an extension. Hindustan Times framed it as an extension he did not receive. Both reports link the parting to a disagreement over Rohit Sharma's one-day future before the 2027 World Cup, which India will play in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The vacancy is the West Zone place on a five-man committee. Applications closed on 14 October. Interviews followed on the Thursday, conducted by the Cricket Advisory Committee of Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjpe. Sportstar reported that Sulakshana Naik also sat in. A decision is expected within days, with no date fixed.

Names in the room

Five men were called. Parthiv Patel had been widely tipped but did not apply.

• Wasim Jaffer, reported as the frontrunner
• Ramesh Powar
• Salil Ankola
• Connor Williams
• Jacob Martin

The sitting panel is Pragyan Ojha as interim chairman, with Shiv Sundar Das, RP Singh and Ajay Ratra. Candidates must have played seven Tests, or 30 first-class matches, or 10 one-day internationals alongside 20 first-class games. Five years must have passed since they retired.

Test caps decide the chair

Under the BCCI constitution the selector with the most Test appearances chairs the committee. Ojha holds the chair on 24 Tests. Jaffer played 31. Powar played two.

That rule binds the appointment to the chairmanship. Appoint Jaffer and the chair changes hands on the day he joins. Appoint any of the other four and Ojha stays where he is. The board has no separate vote on the question.

Questions put to the candidates

Both reports describe a similar line of questioning. Candidates were asked about Rohit Sharma's place in the 2027 one-day plans. They were asked why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has stayed out of the T20I eleven despite being in the squad. They were asked who could lead if Shubman Gill were unavailable.

None of that is confirmed by the board. Neither report carries a quote from anyone named, and the BCCI has made no statement on the process. Until it does, the five names and the questions sit on the authority of the two outlets that reported them.