BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia on Thursday cleared the air over chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s absence from the board’s review meeting, while dismissing speculation about changes to the senior men’s selection committee.Agarkar was not present at the meeting, which focused on India’s recent performances and the team’s preparations for a packed international calendar leading up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.Saikia explained that Agarkar was out of station when the meeting was called at short notice and was unable to join virtually because he was in an area with poor connectivity.“Today he (Agarkar) was out of station, so he could not be a part of the meeting. Because this meeting was called at very short notice and our head of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, was not in town, he could not join it, and he was in such an area that he could not join online also, despite our best efforts,” Saikia told to reporters after the meeting.
No discussion on Agarkar’s future or New Director Of Cricket
Saikia also rejected reports suggesting that Agarkar’s tenure could be coming to an end or that the BCCI was considering changes to the senior men’s selection committee.“There was no such discussion on this in today’s meeting. I do not comment on new rumours. We did not have any such discussions, nor did we have such intentions,” he said.The BCCI secretary also ruled out any discussion about appointing a director of cricket for the men’s team. According to Saikia, the meeting was primarily focused on reviewing India’s performances on recent tours and mapping out preparations for the next phase of the international calendar.“There was no discussion on the selection committee. Our whole focus was on performances in England and Ireland, as well as the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and what we are going to do in the upcoming series before the ODI World Cup, which is our ultimate goal,” he said.The meeting, Saikia clarified, was not about deciding individual player selections or fixing format-wise combinations.“We have not discussed all these things regarding the team selection, team combination, who will be playing in what format. For that, selectors will take a call. Today, the selectors were not part of the discussion. So when the selectors meet to select the team for the West Indies series, as well as thereafter for the New Zealand series, they will consider whatever parameters are to be considered by them,” concluded Saikia.
India’s road to 2027 World Cup begins in earnest
India face a packed schedule over the next several months, with the team set to play Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series before the Asian Games in Japan later this month. The West Indies will then tour India for three ODIs and five T20Is, followed by a demanding multi-format tour of New Zealand featuring two Tests, five ODIs and five T20Is.India will subsequently host Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is before facing Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series in January 2027. The marquee assignment will be the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, scheduled to run from January to March 2027.
