The Board of Control for Cricket in India is on the verge of a significant overhaul of its national selection structure, with former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar emerging as the favourite to succeed Ajit Agarkar as the chairman of the senior men's selection committee, according to reports published on Saturday.
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), headed by Ashok Malhotra, interviewed four or five candidates for the senior panel on October 15 and is understood to have decided to repose its faith in Powar to fill the West Zone vacancy created by Agarkar's departure. The senior panel is currently being headed on an interim basis by former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Agarkar's tenure as chief selector ended on October 4, 2026, closing a term that saw India through a period of transition across formats. The application deadline for the vacant selector positions closed on October 14, and the CAC moved swiftly to interview the shortlisted contenders a day later.
Among those interviewed were former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who played 31 Tests and 2 ODIs; former Baroda players Connor Williams and Jacob Martin; and Mumbai's Salil Ankola. Powar's candidacy is understood to have stood out on account of his combination of international playing experience and his stint as head coach of the Indian women's team — a role that gave him direct exposure to selection-adjacent decision-making at the highest level.
Powar, the Mumbai off-spinner, played 2 Tests and 31 one-day internationals for India between 2004 and 2007. As a coach, he helmed the Indian women's team and has worked extensively in domestic cricket. His backers point to his understanding of both the men's and women's games, as well as his experience in talent identification from his coaching assignments.
One of the more intriguing subplots is the absence of Parthiv Patel from the process. The former India wicketkeeper-batter had been seen in several quarters as a strong contender to head the panel, but he apparently did not apply and was not among those interviewed, effectively ruling him out of the race.
There is also an interesting convention at play in the chairmanship question. Traditionally, the chairman of the senior selection committee has been the selector with the most Test caps. Jaffer's tally of 31 Tests is the highest among the interviewed candidates, a factor that could weigh in his favour under that convention — though reports suggest the CAC has leaned towards Powar regardless.
The reshuffle extends beyond the senior panel. Powar had also been interviewed for the junior selection panel and was initially considered the frontrunner for its chairman role. With his co-option into the senior panel, the junior committee's chairmanship may now go to Dodda Ganesh, the former Karnataka pacer.
Ganesh played 4 Tests and 1 ODI for India, claimed 365 first-class wickets, retired after the 2004-05 season, and later coached Goa's Ranji Trophy side in addition to serving as Karnataka's chief selector — credentials that make him a natural fit for the junior role.
The probable composition of the junior panel, as reported, includes Arun Sharma from Jammu and Kashmir representing the North Zone — a veteran of 65 first-class and 47 List A matches between 1994 and 2009; L Pawar, a former Gujarat player, from the West; Bora from Assam, most likely the 54-year-old Deep Bora, from the East; and Pankaj Singh from the Central Zone, though his name remains unconfirmed.
In a parallel development, the selection process itself is seeing a structural innovation. VVS Laxman attended Friday's online selection meeting — at which the ODI and Test squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour were discussed — as a representative of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence, and is expected to keep attending selection meetings going forward to brief the selectors on player injury status and availability.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had earlier explained Laxman's presence at the Guwahati meeting along the same lines. The arrangement effectively gives the panel a permanent CoE voice, tightening the link between sports science, player workload management and selection calls.
It is important to stress that none of these appointments has been officially announced. The BCCI has not confirmed Powar's elevation or Ganesh's appointment to the junior panel; everything reported so far is framed as the CAC's understanding or as likely outcomes. The board's formal announcement is expected once the CAC's recommendations are processed and ratified.
If confirmed, Powar's appointment would make him the latest in a line of former players to take charge of India's selection apparatus at a critical juncture. The senior team's calendar, including the New Zealand tour squads under discussion, demands immediate attention, and the new chairman will inherit live decisions on squad composition, workload management and the balance between established stars and emerging talent.
The selection committee's architecture matters here. The BCCI's senior men's panel traditionally comprises five selectors drawn from the country's five zones, with the chairmanship going to the member with the most Test experience — a convention that has survived multiple administrative overhauls of the board.
The committee's remit covers selection across formats for the senior men's team, working alongside the head coach, the captain and, increasingly, the Centre of Excellence's sports-science apparatus. In recent years the panel's decisions — from workload management of fast bowlers to the timing of generational transitions — have been among the most scrutinised calls in Indian cricket, making the identity and temperament of the chairman a matter of genuine sporting consequence.
Powar's path to the frontrunner's slot is itself instructive. As a player he was a crafty off-spinner in an era dominated by Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, carving out 31 ODI caps through control and guile rather than mystery. As a coach he took charge of the Indian women's team during a turbulent phase and later worked in domestic cricket, experiences that associates say gave him a selector's eye for temperament and technique.
Jaffer, meanwhile, brings the heaviest playing CV of the interviewees — 31 Tests as an opener, with a first-class mountain of runs behind him — and under the most-Tests convention would ordinarily walk into the chairmanship. That the CAC is reported to have leaned towards Powar suggests the committee valued his recent coaching and selection-adjacent experience over the pure arithmetic of caps.
For Agarkar, the end of tenure closes a chapter that began amid high expectations. A former India all-rounder himself, he steered selection through a phase of generational change. His successor will face the same fundamental challenge: building a squad capable of competing across formats while managing the physical demands of a relentless international calendar.
The coming days should bring clarity. Once the BCCI issues its formal notification, the focus will shift from who selects the team to the teams they select — starting with the squads for New Zealand.
(Reporting based on Cricbuzz and Sportstar.)