Ajit Agarkar is currently in Vadodara to attend the knockout rounds of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy
Chief selection of the Indian men’s team Ajit Agarkar is all set to meet captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir, along with BCCI officials, to review the team’s disastrous campaign in Australia. India, who stunned the Aussies in their last two visits Down Under with historic series win, lost 1-3 to concede the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in eight years.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma talks with head coach Gautam Gambhir (C) and chief selector Ajit Agarkar (R) during a practice session(AFP)
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Agarkar, who travelled with the Indian team in Australia, is currently in Vadodara to attend the knockout rounds of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, which will begin with the round of 16 on Thursday. The former India fast bowler will meet the rest of the members of the selection committee and “brief his colleagues.” Following his interaction with the fellow selection committee members, Agarkar will then meet Gambhir and Rohit to review India’s performance in the series. Notably, BCCI is scheduled to hold Special General Meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on Sunday, where Devajit Saikia will assume charge as the new BCCI secretary.
Ashwin retirement, Rohit-Kohli’s form to be addressed
The report further added that there will be a number of informal and formal meetings among selectors and the administrators in the coming days, which is where a number of matters will be addressed, including India’s poor show during the Test calendar.
Following the win against Bangladesh in September, India lost six of their next eight Tests, which included an unprecedented 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand. The win in Perth, under Jasprit Bumrah, as the only highlight for the Indian team during this run.
The selectors are also expected to address the ongoing uproar in the media over Rohit and Virat Kohli’s form and future in Test cricket.
“The Australian tour, which immediately followed the 0-3 rout at home to New Zealand, was expected to decide the fate of many senior players. The 3-1 loss shut the door on India’s WTC final hopes, which is seen as a big setback. Off-spinner R Ashwin’s mid-tour retirement and return home, murmurs of team discontent on tour, Rohit’s free fall in form that resulted in his sitting out the final Test at Sydney and the prolonged lean run of Virat Kohli has left Indian cricket faced with several searching questions. All these are likely to be addressed in a number of formal and informal meetings among selectors and the administrators in the coming days,” read the report.
