Agarkar not seeking extension as chief of selector; IPL 2027 auction in December

Ajit Agarkar has decided to not seek extension as chief selector once his current contract ends on October 4 this year. Cricinfo has learned that the former India allrounder communicated his decision to the BCCI this week.

It is learned that Agarkar had sounded out the BCCI in the recent months, too, to gauge whether the board wanted him to continue in his role until the 2027 World Cup.

On Friday, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the board had some more time to take a call on Agarkar’s future. “We still have 15 days to go,” Saikia said in Mumbai after BCCI’s annual general meeting. “Fifteen days is a long time in the world of cricket. We will make a decision at an appropriate time.”

Agarkar, who took over as chief selector in July 2023, has played a lead role in helping India achieve success on the field while simultaneously charting a succession plan in coordination with BCCI and team management. During his tenure India won the Asia Cup twice (2023 and ’25), reached the 2023 World Cup final, won the T20 World Cup twice (2024 and 2026) and also won the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Agarkar’s panel also played a crucial role in the appointment of Shubman Gill as captain in both the Test and ODI formats last year.
Earlier this year Agarkar’s panel collectively agreed to appoint Shreyas Iyer as India’s T20I captain replacing Suryakumar Yadav, who had led India to the T20 World Cup title in March.

Agarkar’s panel had also started work on the 2027 World Cup, which will be played in Africa next October-November, agreeing to look beyond Rohit Sharma after India’s tour of England in July. The decision was conveyed to Rohit but the senior India opener is part of the squad for the home ODI series against West Indies starting from September 27.

Agarkar headed the selection meeting earlier this week to pick squads for the West Indies white-ball series as well as the Irani Trophy which starts from October 1.

While Saikia was reluctant to show his hand on Friday, the BCCI is aware it needs to take a decision on Agarkar soon, including appointing a new chief selector considering India are scheduled to travel mid-October for a full tour of New Zealand. That tour starts with five T20Is followed by five ODIs and two Tests. Prior to that, India A will be playing two unofficial Tests as part of the shadow tour in New Zealand.

IPL 2027 auction in December

The player auction for the next IPL will be held in the second week of December. It will be the last mini-auction of the 2023-27 cycle. To mark two decades of the IPL, the BCCI decided to celebrate the next edition in a grand way. It also re-elected Arun Dhumal and Khairul Majumdar to the IPL Governing Council.

“We have also discussed about engaging and activating our state associations to give support to physically-challenged cricketers. The BCCI will complete 100 years in December 2027, so we will do centenary celebrations from December 2027 for one year,” Saikia added.

Umpires and match referee’s fees revised for the first time since 2017-18

For the first time in almost a decade, the BCCI has revised the fees for umpires and match referees in domestic cricket. As per the last hike in May 2018, umpires were paid INR 40,000 per day for matches apart from T20s, and INR 20,000 for T20s. The corresponding figures for match referees was INR 30,000 and 15,000 respectively. While he did not mention the exact amount, Saikia said that their per-day fees have “been enhanced substantially”.

“We have categorised the umpires into four – A, B, C and D, and restructured the fee structure of the match referees also,” he said. “All the umpires’ posting will be as per merit. We have an assessing team under the umpire’s board. Umpires will be given assignments according to their merit – whether it is knockouts or important games.

“After every season, there will be a system of relegation and upgradation. Ten umpires at the end of every season will be promoted, and ten will be relegated. This will make them very alert throughout the season, and that will ultimately help the game of cricket, because some players’ futures depend on decisions of the umpires. They have to be very competent and alert.”

Saikia also said that the appointment of Subhadeep Ghosh as India men’s fielding was on a short-term basis. Ghosh, who worked with the senior women’s team from 2021 to 2023 and is a fielding coach at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, was brought into the role ahead of India’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in August after T Dilip’s contract ended. A final decision on his future will be taken after “assessing his performance and on the opinion of the team management”

Other selection committee appointments expected

The BCCI will review the applications it has received for the junior selection committee for men’s cricket and make an appointment in the next 10-15 days. The board had advertised for five positions in the committee after the tenure of the S Sharath-led panel had ended last month. The deadline to submit applications was September 5.

“We have received a very large number of applicants, and we are shortlisting them,” Saikia said. “After that we will give it to our cricket committee, who will be the competent authority to select the selectors for the junior selection committee. We are trying to complete it in the next 10-15 days.”

Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at Cricinfo; S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

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