Ajit Agarkar one-man army behind Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal’s selections; will have last word in T20 WC squad

When Sunil Gavaskar lavished praise on Rahul Dravid and his support personnel for doing the “backroom work” with the Indian side following their triumph against England, the head coach promptly mentioned the work of the Ajit Agarkar led selection committee.

India’s coach Rahul Dravid and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar(ANI)
India’s coach Rahul Dravid and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar(ANI)
Ajit and his team deserve a big shoutout as well. As captain and coach, we seldom see many of the youngsters that come in. We don’t see as much domestic cricket as Ajit and his team of selectors do. We have been pushed. We have been asked by them to select some of these youngsters, and they have performed – It’s tough being a selector. You always get the criticism but a big pat on the back to Ajit and his team,” Dravid said in an interview with Jio Cinema following India’s 4-1 series win over the Bazballers.

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This was among the 1001 reasons to like Dravid as a team man, more so as a human being. The selectors, especially its chief Agarkar, would find it a bit unfair to equate this entirely with Dravid’s humbleness.

Agarkar’s role in Jurel and Padikkal’s selections
The youngsters Dravid was talking about were Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal. It was Agarkar who pushed for the selection of these two cricketers during the England series. After Ishan Kishan pulled out of the South Africa Test series citing mental fatigue, the management was in a fix about the backup keeper. KL Rahul has already been selected as a specialist batter. That left India with only one keeping option – KS Bharat.

The name Jurel was suggested by Agarkar. He was still a rookie so the team management wasn’t overly confident in him. 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.

Jurel was awarded his Test cap in a Rajkot match after Bharat had failed with the bat during the first two Tests. The Agra boy was not let down. With a solid 45 on debut, he proved Agarkar’s instincts correct. What he accomplished in the upcoming Test at Ranchi would not only enable India to win the series but also secure his spot in the Indian team as a keeper, even after Rishabh Pant returns. In the first innings, Jurel scored the highest score with a 90 before remaining ice-cool under tremendous pressure in the second innings by bowling an unbeaten 39 to lead India home.

There was another inspired selection of Devdutt Padikkal where Agarkar took the lead. India required a strong batter in the middle order after it had been virtually certain that Virat Kohli and his team mate KL Rahul couldn’t play in the following two Tests because of distinct reasons. Test caps were already handed over to Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan. Right after captain Rohit Sharma, all rounder Ravindra Jadeja was India’s most experienced batter in the top six.

There was a discussion about the Indian cricketer Cheteswar Pujara who was generating runs in Ranji Trophy. The batting line-up literally had no experience. But Agarkar stood firm on looking ahead with Padikkal’s selection. The source stated that he was present when he achieved a fluent 150 during a Ranji Trophy match and believed that his height would be advantageous against the inexperienced spinners of England.

In his only chance to bat at the Test level in the final Test in Dharamsala, Padikkal scored a crucial 65 in the first innings. Agarkar was also instrumental in the selections of Sai Sudharsan and Rajat Patidar during the South Africa tour.

Agarkar to have final say in T20 World Cup selection, IPL performance not sole parameter
The former India fast bowler has been calling the shots ever since taking over as the chairman of sectors in July last year amid turbulent times. Chetan Sharma, his predecessor, had to resign after a national news channel sting operation. The pedigree of the selection committee was in question.

The Board wanted a change. In came Agarkar, the face of the new selection committee with a proven track record as the Mumbai Cricket Association chief selector. He was a man with a voice backed with a sound acumen to spot talent.

He’s not afraid of the challenging task. Whether it was recommending scrapping Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s names from the central list for not playing the Ranji Trophy or preparing backups for every position, Agarkar has been at the forefront of shaping up the backbone of India’s squad as much as coach Dravid and captain Rohit.

With India still hunting for their first ICC trophy since 2013, the T20 World Cup in June is the nearest opportunity and those in the know of things believe it is Agarkar who will have the last say in picking the final 15. A lot will depend on the IPL but the dynamics of franchise cricket and international cricket are different.

“IPL will be important but it won’t be the main criteria for selection for T20 World Cup. The selectors have essentially drawn up a squad. The source stated that the IPL will not undergo significant changes unless a breakthrough performance is achieved or a significant decline in form occurs.