Table of Contents

Under Ajit Agarkar's chairmanship India won the T20 World Cup in 2024, the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup again in 2026. Three ICC titles in three years.

They also reached the ODI World Cup 2023 final and the white ball dominance that has defined Indian cricket over the past three years has happened entirely on his watch.

The selectors rarely get the credit when things go well and the players and support staff rightfully take the spotlight for what happens on the field.

But the squads that delivered those three titles were built by Ajit Agarkar and his panel and the decisions behind them were not always easy ones to make.

What Ajit Agarkar has overseen and why the request to BCCI is well timed

Now according to Times of India, Ajit Agarkar has made a request to the BCCI that the board is currently considering and the timing of it could not be better for him.

Ajit Agarkar was appointed chairman of the selection committee in mid-2023 and his contract was extended by one year ahead of IPL 2025 as a reward for India winning the Champions Trophy 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2024.

That extension has now run its course and with India adding a second consecutive T20 World Cup title on March 8 in Ahmedabad Agarkar has moved quickly to make his case for staying on.

Ajit Agarkar has requested the BCCI to extend his contract until the ODI World Cup 2027. Discussions are underway but no final decision has been taken yet.

In the time Ajit Agarkar has been in charge India have played four ICC finals. They lost the ODI World Cup 2023 final at home. They won the T20 World Cup 2024. They won the Champions Trophy 2025.

They won the T20 World Cup 2026. Three titles from four finals is a record that speaks for itself and the selections that made those campaigns possible were not always straightforward calls.

Also READ: Yuzvendra Chahal speaks to AB de Villiers on alcohol and what cost Punjab Kings the IPL 2025 final

The decisions that defined his tenure

Ajit Agarkar's time as chief selector has been marked by calls that required genuine conviction. The most significant was his backing of Suryakumar Yadav as India's long-term T20I captain over

Hardik Pandya when the two were being considered for the role. It was a decision that attracted criticism at the time and has since been validated by two T20 World Cup titles under Surya's leadership.

The decision to replace Rohit Sharma as ODI captain was even more sensitive given Rohit's stature in Indian cricket and the emotional weight attached to the change. Ajit Agarkar did not hide behind silence on either call. He fronted up and took the criticism that came with both decisions.

He has also overseen significant transitions across all three formats. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have both retired from Tests and T20Is during his tenure.

Ravichandran Ashwin called time on his India career under his watch. Managing those exits while continuing to win at the highest level of the game is not a small achievement. The current selection committee alongside Agarkar includes Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Ajay Ratra and Shiv Sundar Das.

What happens next and who else is in the picture

According to the Times of India report, a former Indian player from the West Zone had been considered the frontrunner to succeed Agarkar but nothing has developed on that front either.

The BCCI is holding discussions on both fronts simultaneously which suggests no decision is imminent. Agarkar's request is well timed because it comes immediately after India's World Cup triumph when his stock within the board is at its highest.

Whether the BCCI rewards that success with another extension through to 2027 or decides a change is needed regardless of the results is the question that will be answered in the weeks ahead.