A photo from BCCI’s selection meeting to pick India Men’s T20I squad vs New Zealand© X/@BCCI
From the time Ajit Agarkar’s tenure as BCCI chief selector ended earlier this month, the search has been on to find his replacement. The deadline to apply for the vacant West Zone selector’s post ended on Wednesday. Contrary to multiple reports, Parthiv Patel did not apply for the role. A report by news agency PTI has claimed that Ramesh Powar, who was widely expected to become chairman of the junior men’s selection committee, could now emerge as a contender for the senior selector’s position from the West Zone.
As per a report in TOI, Patel’s decision not to apply for the selector’s job may have a lot to do with VVS Laxman’s ‘growing influence’ in Indian cricket.
Recently, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that Laxman, who is the head of the Centre of Excellence, would attend all selection meetings. After Patel did not apply, multiple reports claimed that Pragyan Ojha would continue in his role as interim chairman of the selection committee.
“BCCI would have preferred continuity with Agarkar staying on till the World Cup, but things didn’t go as expected,” the report quoted a source as saying.
“If a new chairman of the selection committee comes in, there’s a chance his vision could be different from that of the people working now. So, the board will have to gauge the vision of the new selector. With Laxman’s growing influence, the board may let things remain the way they are at present.”
The report added that the BCCI wants big names to head the selection panel and is now flexible with its pay policy. After RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha joined the selection panel, the BCCI increased its budget for the panel’s expenses by Rs 3 crore to Rs 17.45 crore. For 2026-27, the BCCI has increased the budget to Rs 19.35 crore.
The report further claimed that the BCCI had reached out to a couple of cricketers who had played close to 100 Tests, but they declined the offer
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