"It's not easy being a selector" - Here's how Ajit Agarkar makes it all happen

Team India did well in the recently-concluded five-match Test series where they won 4-1 against England at home. When Sunil Gavaskar lauded Rahul Dravid and his support staff for doing the “backroom work” with the team after their series win, the head coach gave credit to the work of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.

“A big shoutout to Ajit and his team as well. A lot of the youngsters that come in… as coach and as captain we don’t actually get to see a lot of them. We don’t see as much domestic cricket as Ajit and his team of selectors do. They have pushed us. They have challenged us to pick some of these youngsters and they have come out here and performed. It’s not easy being a selector. You always get the criticism but a big pat on the back to Ajit and his team,” Rahul Dravid said in an interview with Jio Cinema following India’s 4-1 series win.

“It was Agarkar who suggested Jurel’s name” – BCCI source

However, Rahul Dravid praised the youngsters Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal who both stepped up when needed. It was Ajit Agarkar who selected these two cricketers during the England series. After Ishan Kishan pulled out of the South Africa Test series citing mental fatigue, the Indian Team management was in a fix about the backup keeper as KL Rahul played as a specialist batter and KS Bharat was the only option.

“It was Agarkar who suggested Jurel’s name. The team management wasn’t too confident about him as he was still a rookie. Picking a youngster who hasn’t had much red-ball exposure at the top level straightaway into the Indian side for an important series like England was always going to be a brave call but Agarkar had seen enough to vouch for the youngster,” a BCCI source told Hindustan Times.

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However, after Bharat failed to do well, Dhruv Jurel made his debut and scored 45 on his debut as well. Notably, Jurel top-scored in the first innings with a 91 and then an unbeaten 36 in the second to take the team home.

Alongside him, Devdutt Padikkal was also impressive in the middle-order in the absence of senior players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. In his only chance to bat in the final Test in Dharamsala, Padikkal scored a crucial 65 in the first innings.

Moreover, Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan also stepped up with the bat. After captain Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the most experienced batter in the top six for India.

“There was a discussion about Cheteshwar Pujara, who was scoring runs in Ranji Trophy. The batting line-up literally had no experience. But Agarkar stood firm on looking ahead with Padikkal’s selection. He was present when he hit a fluent 150 in a Ranji Trophy and he believed that his height would come in handy against the inexperienced England spinners,” the source again added.

“IPL will be important but it won’t be the main criteria for selection for T20 World Cup” – BCCI Source

Meanwhile, Ajit Agarkar will have the final say in T20 World Cup selection where IPL performance is not the only parameter. As per reports, he talked with Virat Kohli too about his future participation in the World Cup.

However, he is the backbone of Team India’s squad and success as much as coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. Be it removing Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the central list for not playing in the Ranji Trophy or backing the youngsters – Ajit Agarkar did it all. And, now it will be interesting to see how he picks the T20 World Cup squad.

“IPL will be important but it won’t be the main criteria for selection for T20 World Cup. The selectors have more or less chalked out a squad. The IPL won’t change too much unless there is a breakthrough performance or a drastic dip in form,” the source concluded.