Pragyan Ojha, in tune with team management, set to take BCCI chief selector role

Pragyan Ojha is set to replace Ajit Agarkar as the chief selector after it was decided that Ramesh Powar will be the West Zone representative on the five-member committee.

Former left-arm spinner Ojha (24 Tests) had been the interim chairman after Agarkar’s departure since he was the senior-most among the four persons on the panel.

Parthiv Patel was tipped to take over from Agarkar but the former wicketkeeper-batter didn’t apply when the deadline for the senior panel closed on Wednesday.

It is understood that Parthiv backtracked after considering certain financial issues. The remuneration for the selection committee chief is reportedly ₹3 crore annually and Parthiv is believed to lose out substantially if he has to sacrifice his TV commentary assignments and commitments with Gujarat Titans in the IPL.

The Cricket Advisory Committee, headed by Ashok Malhotra, interviewed four candidates, including former India opener Wasim Jaffer, for the position on Thursday. The others in the fray were Connor Williams, Jacob Martin and Salil Ankola.

Sources told The Telegraph that the BCCI decided to go ahead with Powar as West Zone representative, and not Jaffer, who played 31 Tests, since it wanted the selectors to be in sync with the team management’s current policy ahead of the ODI World Cup. Ojha has been around for more than a year and is conversant with the team management’s wishes.

The BCCI didn’t favour putting Jaffer, a domestic stalwart, in the chairman’s role since it was a risk not worth taking at this time.

Powar, earlier interviewed for the junior selection panel, was initially considered
for the chairman’s role but eventually co-opted in the senior panel.

While Ojha will be the chairman, there will be a bigger role for VVS Laxman. The Centre of Excellence chief has already attended two selection meetings, including one in person in Guwahati, and his presence will be a regular feature henceforth.

This will help in better co-ordination between the selectors and the COE with respect to the players’ fitness and injury status. There had been a lot of controversy between the team management and the COE regarding players’ availability during Agarkar’s tenure.

Former pacer Dodda Ganesh may take over as the junior selection panel chief. Assam’s Deep Bora is likely to be the East Zone’s representative.