Chennai, Sep 6 (IANS) Ajit Agarkar, Chairman of the senior men’s selection committee, was spotted in the stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday to watch the Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone. It marked Agarkar’s first public appearance days after missing a crucial BCCI review meeting in Mumbai.

Agarkar, sitting alone in the corporate box on day one’s play, monitored the action as several India and domestic stars pressed their cases ahead of upcoming India ‘A’ assignments. His presence comes after his absence from last Thursday's review meeting, convened to address recent series losses in England and Ireland, as well as chalk out the roadmap for 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup.

His absence fueled widespread speculation regarding his future with the national selection panel. Addressing concerns over his absence, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia clarified that Agarkar was unable to attend the meeting due to prior travel arrangements and connectivity constraints.

"He was out of station. He could not be a part of the meeting because this meeting was called at very short notice, and our head of the selection committee, Ajit, was not in town, so he could not join it. He was in such an area that he could not join online, in spite of our best efforts," Saikia had told reporters at that time.

The high-level review meeting in Mumbai was attended by head coach Gautam Gambhir, Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, and T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer, as well as BCCI President Mithun Manhas, Joint Secretary Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, and CoE head of cricket VVS Laxman.

With reports pointing to Agarkar's contract likely to end later this month, Saikia dismissed rumours that the meeting included deliberations on the selection committee's tenure or future administrative extensions.

"There was no such discussion in the meeting. There was no discussion over the selection committee. Our whole focus was performance in England and Ireland, as well as the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and what we are going to do in the upcoming series, plus the World Cup, which is our ultimate goal," Saikia added.

Agarkar’s appearance at Chepauk assumes significance as selectors assess form and fitness for five home and away 'A' Tests scheduled against Australia ‘A’ and New Zealand ‘A’ over the next two months. Previously, Agarkar’s fellow committee members Ajay Ratra, RP Singh, SS Das and Pragyan Ojha were present to monitor players during the Duleep Trophy quarter-finals and semi-finals at the CoE Grounds in Bengaluru.

--IANS

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