Former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has thrown in his hat to become the next national selector of the Indian cricket men’s team and is likely to get the job. Confirming that he has applied for the position, Agarkar, who was a former chairman of the Mumbai senior selection committee, was among a host of people who applied for the top position.
The BCCI had set January 24 as the deadline for sending in applications, and the 42-year old has now emerged as the favourite as the new constitution does not have provisions for the zonal system.
The seamer had played 26 Test matches, 191 One Day Internationals and three T20Is for India, picking up 349 wickets at the international level across formats. He is the third-highest wicket-taker for India in ODIs, with 288 wickets, behind Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath.
“Ajit entering the fray is an interesting development. He is someone who would have put in a lot of thought before applying. If anyone thought that Siva’s nomination as a chairman of selectors is a given will now think again. It will be very interesting to see who all are short-listed,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on the first day had spoken about transparency. If the intent is correct and the heart is in right place, why do we need to have zonal biases and follow the convention?” the official asked.
Other than Agarkar and Lakshman Sivaramakrishnan, the other names who have applied for the position include Nayan Mongia, Chetan Sharma, and Rajesh Chauhan.
List of notable former cricketers who have applied
Ajit Agarkar (Mumbai), Chetan Sharma (Haryana), Nayan Mongia (Baroda), Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (Tamil Nadu), Rajesh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh), Amey Khurasiya (Madhya Pradesh), Gyanendra Pandey (UP, not eligible as completed 4 years as JR selector), Pritam Gandhe (Vidarbha, has already served term as Jr Natl selector).
