Two changes likely in Agarkar-led India men's selection committee

The Ajit Agarkar-led senior India men's selection panel is set to have two new members, with the BCCI inviting fresh applications for the positions via a press release on Friday. Applicants have until 5pm IST on September 10 to apply.

It isn't immediately clear which two zones will have new selectors. No member of the current panel has, however, exceeded the cumulative five-year-period rule that's in place.

With Agarkar's contract set to run until the 2026 T20 World Cup and Ajay Ratra only recently inducted (in October 2024), it's likely two of SS Das (Central), Subroto Bannerjee (East) and S Sharath (South) will be replaced.

Having been appointed chairman of the junior panel in 2021, Sharath was promoted to the senior selection committee in 2023. Das, meanwhile, briefly served as interim chairman of the senior panel in the wake of Chetan Sharma's ouster.

Das was subsequently replaced in the role by Agarkar, who is likely to remain chairman, with his contract having been extended until the end of next year's T20 World Cup in February-March. Bannerjee, meanwhile, joined the panel in early 2023.

The new applicants must have been retired from playing at least five years ago, and must have played a minimum of seven Tests or 30 first-class matches; or ten ODIs and 20 first-class matches. Additionally, they shouldn't have been part of any cricket committee of the BCCI for a cumulative five years.

The women's selection panel is also set for an overhaul, with the term of the Neetu David-led committee ending in September. The squad for the women's ODI World Cup, which David & Co picked earlier this week, was their last assignment.

As things stand, Shyama Shaw is the only one likely to remain, having come on board only in 2023. The other members of the panel who will have to relinquish their roles are David, Aarti Vaidya and Renu Margrate. Currently, there is no woman selector representing the South.

There's also likely to be one change in the junior selection panel currently headed by former Karnataka wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu. The other members of that panel are Ranadeb Bose (East), Harvinder Singh Sodhi (North), Pathik Patel (West) and Krishen Mohan (Central). Naidu was brought on board as chairman in 2023 when Sharath earned a promotion to the senior panel.