Why did Ajit Agarkar quit? Rohit’s future fiasco, differences with VVS Laxman

The drama surrounding former captain Rohit Sharma’s future and growing differences with Center of Excellence chief VVS Laxman became the main reasons why chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and the BCCI parted ways ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back was Agarkar not remotely joining the all-important assessment meeting in Mumbai to discuss the debacle of the England series and the road ahead.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia defended him, but at some level many board members felt that Agarkar should have attended such an important meeting.

While he was not opposed to continuing until the end of the ODI World Cup in South Africa, the BCCI has dropped enough hints over the past month that they will be looking at a new face.

Normally, the BCCI would be loathe to release someone whose panel has selected teams that have reached four ICC white-ball tournament finals and won three trophies (two T20 WC titles and one CT) in the last three years.

But then the relationship between Agarkar and the current BCCI regime turned frosty mainly due to several reasons.

BCCI ON ROHIT’S FUTURE

It was just before the white-ball series against England that the selection committee, headed by now-former chairman Ajit Agarkar, in concurrence with the Indian team management and key decision-makers in the BCCI, decided to move on from veteran opener Rohit Sharma after the Lord’s ODIs.

Accordingly, a collective decision was taken and South Zone selector Pragyan Ojha, who happens to be one of Rohit’s closest friends, was asked to “communicate” the decision to the former two-time ICC Trophy-winning captain.

Rohit, who wants to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup, was not exactly happy when the news was delivered. He spoke to a very powerful administrator and expressed his doubts about the way the chairman of selectmen had treated him.

Those who know Agarkar confirmed that when the BCCI officially “issued” a statement supporting Rohit and rejected talk of his retirement at Lord’s, he was scorned and angry.

“That was perhaps the day when Ajit knew it would be very difficult for him to continue. In fact, he had no idea that the media statement was issued by BCCI. He understood that calling big names would not be his prerogative going forward,” a senior BCCI official privy to the development told PTI on condition of anonymity.

Those who know Agarkar intimately would confirm that when it comes to cricketing decisions, like head coach Gautam Gambhir, he comes from a place of integrity, even if some work and some don’t.

BCCI wanted him to go slow on Rohit’s future, while he felt that if Yashasvi Jaiswal was to play in the ODI World Cup, he would have to get around 20 ODIs to settle.

The argument in Rohit’s favor was this he scored in every third ODIwhich cannot be considered a bad thing, while Agarkar may have felt that there were no guarantees that the aging ‘Hit-Man’ would be effective in Rainbow Nation.

A reality that Agarkar may never have been able to accept was that when it came to megastars in Indian cricket – retirement or continuation, it was rarely the selection committee’s call. It has and always will be an administrative challenge – give or take.

VVS LAXMAN & CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

VVS Laxman and Agarkar have been India teammates for a number of years, but it’s safe to say that there is a serious difference of opinion between the two regarding policy decisions regarding injured players as well as the scheduling of India A games.

“If you think VVS Laxman’s desire to win at all costs is anything less than say Virat Kohli or Sourav Ganguly, then you are wrong. Whatever the competition, Laxman always wanted the best XI to play,” said the former state team coach who saw Laxman operate at close quarters at the COE.

Agarkar, who also selected the Indian men’s team for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, found it difficult to understand why India needed to field its first team in the Asian Games, where cricket is essentially a Tier 2 tournament.

In Hangzhou, it was Ruturaj Gaikwad who led the side as the first team was busy with the ODI World Cup. This time Shubman Gill goes into the ODI series without Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, at least four of whom are first team players.

India A’s two-Test clash in Puducherry (between 22 September and 2 October) with the Irani Cup in Srinagar (1-5 October) and the overlapping of India A’s three ‘Tests’ against New Zealand A (between 24 October and 10 November) with the T20I and ODI series also became points of difference between the duo.

It should be noted that India A’s planning is handled by the COE head (at one point handled by Rahul Dravid) along with members of the cricket operations team.

No specific timelines have been provided for centrally contracted injured players and this has also become a point of debate. Interestingly, Laxman was also upset that the COE received a lot of flak for reasons that were not exactly under his control. Mutual mistrust also grew after an elaborate list of top players’ injuries was published in the media.

By the time Agarkar decided to skip the appraisal meeting, things had already spiraled out of control and his departure had become a mere formality.

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

19 Sep 2026 17:55 IST