India head selector Ajit Agarkar has come out and talked about the challenges of serving in a stressful job. Agarkar was made the chairperson of the senior selection committee of men in India in July 2023. The former generalist regarded the job requirements of a selector as a commentator.
“I will probably go with the easier one first. Being a commentator, and I mean no disrespect, you still work hard, spend hours on the ground. As long as you get the right words out, your job as a commentator is done,” stated Agarkar while speaking at NDTV World Summit 2025.?
Agarkar then drew parallels between the amount of control a selection has over the players, contrasting it from the player’s perspective.
“Playing gives you the most satisfaction. Every time you step on the field, you know your job is on the line. One thing that goes for you as a player is that the ball or bat is in your hand. As a selector, once you pick a squad of 15, there is nothing else in your hand. It is a challenging, hectic, high-demand job. You can’t please everyone,” he added.
He also discussed the dilemma of having too many options when selecting from such a brilliant pool of athletes. Agarkar spoke on the rise in fanbases in the current era and how some groups remain dissatisfied with selection decisions.
“Having so many players to pick from is a good problem to have. It improves the competition levels, and the performance levels stay high. The sport is so popular in India that there will be people who will be critical of your decisions. The fanbases have increased multiple times over the last few years,” noted Agarkar.
Agarkar’s stint as chairperson has been called into question on several occasions, the most recent being the inclusion of pacer Harshit Rana in the white-ball squads for the Australia series, while Mohammed Shami was excluded.
