Former Indian pacer Ajith Agarkar can now be seen in a new role, as the, Selection Committee Chairman of Mumbai Cricket Association, the organization which contributes a large number of cricket players to the country each year. Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) decided to replace former Mumbai skipper Miling Rege, whose three-year term had ended, with Agarkar.
Agarkar’s colleagues in the selection committee will be his former Mumbai teammates, ex-India left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni, Jatin Paranjpe and Sunil More – a unique case in Mumbai cricket history perhaps, when the members of the entire selection committee have played for the Ranji giants at the same time.
Agarkar took 58 wickets in 26 Tests and 288 in 191 ODIs, besides fashioning numerous triumphs for the 41-time Ranji champs with both bat and ball. “It’s a new job for me, and I’ll give it a try. Mumbai cricket has done so much for me… if I can give back in some way, it’ll be great. I’m looking forward to doing it.
“I’ve been around Mumbai cricket for a while now… maybe not so much in the lot the couple of years as much, but I keep a track of what’s happening around the city,” Agarkar told TOI on Friday. “If as you can spot the right players, have unbiased views towards them, then it isn’t a tough job,” the retired all-rounder added.
The 39-year-old, who works an expert on a cricket website these days, is happy with the Mumbai Ranji team’s performance at the moment, even though the domestic heavyweights haven’t produced many India players of late. “They lost in the final this year, and won the title in the previous year, which tells you that there’s a not a lot wrong that they’re doing. It’s our responsibility to try and pick players who can try and go up the ladder.
“There’s a lot of talent in the team. If you’ve reached a final, and won the title the previous, I don’t think the performances of the players have been bad at all. How many teams have reached the Ranji finals on consecutive years?,” Agarkar said.
Agarkar was the one who lead the pace attack of India with Javagal Sreenath. Agarkar shined in team India during 1998 to 2006-07 time period. While Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan excelled in the team, Agarkar was slowly removed from the team. Starting from Azarudheen’s team, he rested from his career under MS Dhoni. Agarkar played most of his games under the captaincy of Ganguly.
