"History Will Be Kinder to You": Gambhir Bids Farewell to Outgoing Chief Selector Agarkar

India head coach Gautam Gambhir paid tribute to outgoing chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Wednesday, praising his conviction and his commitment to putting the team first, and predicting that "history will be kinder" to him.

"Dear Ajit Bhai, an absolute honour to work with you. Those 3 ICC trophies are testimony of your conviction: Team first & Team ahead, always. I must say, History will be kinder to you. Thank you for everything. My heartfelt wishes for your future endeavours!" Gambhir wrote on X.

Agarkar's term as chairman of the BCCI's senior men's selection committee ended on October 4. He had taken charge in July 2023 and did not seek an extension. The board has invited applications for one vacant position on the panel.

Gambhir was referring to the three ICC titles India won during Agarkar's time: the T20 World Cup in 2024, the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup in 2026. India also reached the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, which Agarkar's panel selected the squad for after taking charge, and won the Asia Cup in 2023 and 2025.

Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha is the interim chief selector. He chaired Tuesday's meeting to pick the squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. The board has not announced a permanent successor.

HOW AGARKAR GOT THE JOB

Agarkar was appointed on July 4, 2023, after the previous selection panel, led by Chetan Sharma, was sacked following India's exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup. Sharma was reappointed, then resigned in February 2023 after a sting operation in which he made controversial claims about players and fitness. The Cricket Advisory Committee unanimously recommended Agarkar.

A former fast bowler from Mumbai, Agarkar played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and four T20Is for India, taking 349 wickets in all. He scored a Test century at Lord's in 2002 and hit the fastest ODI fifty by an Indian, in 21 balls against Zimbabwe in 2000.

He took charge as chairman on seniority, based on his Test appearances, as the convention requires. Gambhir took over as head coach in July 2024, after Rahul Dravid, on a contract reported to run for three and a half years, and the two have worked together since.

THE BIG CALLS

Agarkar's panel made some of the most consequential and debated decisions in recent Indian cricket.

Test and ODI captaincy. The panel installed Shubman Gill as Test captain in 2025, after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from the format within days of each other. Agarkar said Kohli had approached the selectors in early April 2025 to say he was stepping away. Gill also replaced Rohit as ODI captain, months after India won the Champions Trophy.

T20I captaincy. After Suryakumar Yadav led India to the 2026 T20 World Cup title in March, the panel replaced him with Shreyas Iyer, who had not been a regular in the T20I side.

Rohit's ODI future. Reports said the panel was considering moving on from Rohit after the ODI series against England in July, but he scored a century in the decider at Lord's on July 19, keeping him central to plans for the 2027 World Cup.

The tenure was not without friction. In 2024, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were left out of BCCI central contracts, a decision that became a flashpoint. Agarkar was also criticised for not giving the T20I captaincy to Hardik Pandya, who had been vice-captain.

There was speculation about whether the selectors had nudged Rohit and Kohli out of Test cricket, which Agarkar denied, saying both approached him. Some commentators have said the panel handled the transition from the ageing core well, while others pointed to occasional friction with the team management and the board.

After India won the 2026 T20 World Cup, Gambhir publicly credited Agarkar for working honestly despite heavy criticism of selection decisions.

The new selector will be picked through the BCCI's usual process, in which candidates are screened, interviewed and recommended by the Cricket Advisory Committee. The incoming panel will also have a task ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, and India's first assignment under Ojha is the tour of New Zealand.

With inputs from ANI