BCCI Cited Network Issues, But Ajit Agarkar Chose To Miss Key Board Meeting: Report
Ajit Agarkar's absence from the review meeting in Mumbai was the first indication that he had made up his mind not to continue in the role.
- Ajit Agarkar had deliberately missed a high-profile board meeting earlier this month, according to a report
- BCCI previously stated Agarkar was unavailable due to lack of internet access
- Parthiv Patel is a leading candidate to replace Ajit Agarkar as chief selector
Ajit Agarkar's departure as the chairman of the selection committee is imminent, with the former India pacer no longer willing to continue at the helm of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). With Agarkar's current contract set to expire in the coming days, a report has claimed that the BCCI chief selector had deliberately missed a high-profile board meeting earlier this month. This comes after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had said that Agarkar didn't attend the meeting due to him being at a place where internet wasn't available.
According to a report in The Telegraph, Agarkar's absence from the review meeting in Mumbai was the first indication that he had made up his mind not to continue in the role.
"He was out of station. 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, was not in town, so he could not join it. He was in such an area that he could not join online, in spite of our best efforts," Saikia had said.
NDTV had earlier reported that Agarkar's tenure is all but over and that he had already chaired his final selection meeting when Team India's squad for the upcoming white-ball series was announced.
Sources had told NDTV that former India cricketer Parthiv Patel is one of the leading candidates to replace Agarkar, whose contract expires next month.
Along with the future of the chairman of senior selection committee, the BCCI is reportedly looking to fill up all five positions of the junior selection committee.
The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the board has received a lot of applications for the junior selection committee and it aims to complete the process within a fortnight.
"We have received a very large number of applicants and once the shortlisting is completed, then we will give it to our cricket committee," he said.
"They will be the competent authority to select for the junior selection committee, so that process is going on, and we are trying to complete it within the next 10-15 days time because all the five (current) selectors, their tenure is going to be over very soon," he added.
India Cricket Team