Ramesh Powar leads race ahead of Jaffer to replace Ajit Agarkar in India men’s selection panel

Former India spinner Romesh Powar leads the race ahead of fellow contender and opener Wasim Jaffer to replace Ajit Agarkar in India's men’s selection panel, headed by interim chair Pragyan Ojha. After the deadline closed on October 14, the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) interviewed four or five candidates for the vacant position.

A Cricbuzz report claims that all interviews took place on October 15, including Jaffer, Connor Williams and Jacob Martin, the

two former Baroda players and Mumbai’s Salil Ankola.

Powar, the former two-time head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team, has represented India in two Tests and 31 ODIs, picking 40 wickets across two formats. A domestic giant like Jaffer, Powar has played 148 first-class and 113 List-A matches, having retired from competitive cricket in late 2015.

Jaffer’s Strong Credentials

Elsewhere, Jaffer has played for India in 31 Tests, hitting five hundreds and two double tons against Pakistan and the West Indies. His eight-year India career spanned from 2000 to 2008, during which he scored 1,944 runs at 34.10. The Mumbai opener also played two ODI matches in 2006.

If selected ahead of Powar, Jaffer would have the highest Test appearances among all candidates being considered for the chairman’s position, and would therefore be elected as the head of the selection panel.
The right-handed opener has played seven more Tests than the interim chair Ojha, who has 24 Test caps. Besides Ojha, the remaining four selectors are RP Singh, Ajay Ratra and Shiv Sunder Das.

Meanwhile, the report claims the selection panel would now have a permanent representative from the Centre of Excellence (CoE), which explains why VVS Laxman attended the selection meeting in Guwahati. It is also understood that Laxman was also part of Friday’s online selection meeting to pick the squads for the longer formats for the New Zealand tour.

Laxman will continue to attend such meetings, providing a better understanding of players’ injury and availability status.

Meanwhile, former keeper-batter Parthiv Patel, another strong contender to head the new selection panel, reportedly had not applied for the position, at least not among those interviewed.