Pragyan Ojha may continue as interim chief selector

Pragyan Ojha (Image credit: NEW DELHI: There is confusion over the composition of BCCI’s national selection panel following former chief Ajit Agarkar’s decision not to proceed. The deadline for applications to fill the West Zone vacancy ended on Wednesday with former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, widely tipped as Agarkar’s replacement, opting not to apply for the job.

VVS have a bigger say?

Parthiv’s decision not to participate has sparked speculation that BCCI’s Center of Excellence (CoE) chief VVS Laxman may have a bigger say in selection matters, with Pragyan Ojha continuing as the interim chairman of the selection committee. Will BCCI decide to go ahead with the ODI World Cup in less than a year?“The BCCI would have preferred continuity with Agarkar to stay till the World Cup, but things have not gone as expected. If a new chairman of the selectors comes in, there is a chance that his vision could be different from those working now. So the board will have to gauge the vision of the new selector,” a BCCI source said, adding, “With Laxman’s growing influence, things may remain for now.”It will be interesting to see if the council takes more time to find a suitable candidate for the role of chief selector. Otherwise, it is likely that candidates will be resorted to filling the seat for the representative from the western zone.

The board is willing to increase the budget to attract big names

According to sources, the BCCI prefers “big” names with considerable international cricket experience to fill important positions. TOI has learned that the board has become flexible in its wage policy to attract big names.Since RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha joined the selection committee in September last year, the BCCI’s spending on the selection committee has exceeded the annual budget by Rs 3 crore to Rs 17.45 crore. Interestingly, the board has earmarked a budget of Rs 19.35 crore for 2026-27, an increase of another Rs 2 cr. This means that BCCI has increased the budget for selection committees by 5 cr.TOI understands that the board approached several former cricketers who have played close to 100 Tests, but they declined the offer. Recent appointments to the men’s selection board have emerged with candidates negotiating their salaries.

Will SS Das continue beyond December?

The BCCI also has to consider whether it wants to continue with SS Das as selector as he completes four years on the job in December. Sources said there was a chance the board would let Das continue till the World Cup.