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For the position of one national selector for the
senior men’s squad, the BCCI is accepting applications. The internet
advertisement of the board, however, does not indicate which of the current
five-member panel, which is chaired by Ajit Agarkar, will be replaced with the
new pickers.
The BCCI constitution states that the board appoints
one selector from each zone (north, south, east, west, and central), with the
panel headed by the member having the highest Test cap experience. When
combining the terms of the junior and senior panels, no selector may serve for
longer than five years.
There are two selectors for the west who are members
of the same association (Mumbai Cricket Association), but no one from the north
since Agarkar was appointed chairman to fill the vacuum left by Chetan Sharma’s
departure from the north zone last July. Salil Ankola (west), SS Das (east), S
Sharath (south), and Subroto Banerjee (centre) are the other members of the
panel at this time.
One of the two persons from the west may have to make
way if the BCCI insists on having a member from the north on the committee.
Candidates must submit their applications by January
25 at 6 p.m. IST. After screening the applications, the BCCI will invite the
chosen candidates for an interview. To be eligible, applicants needed to have
participated in at least seven Tests, thirty first-class games, or 10 ODIs and
twenty first-class matches. The interviews have not been scheduled as of yet.
The India team for the first two of the five Tests
against England, which will take place at home starting on January 25, has been
selected by the Agarkar-led committee. The team for the other three Tests would
probably be selected following the conclusion of the second Test in
Visakhapatnam on February 6. Following the England Tests, India’s next task is
the T20 World Cup, which happens right after the IPL in 2024.