Pragyan Ojha chaired India’s selection committee meeting in Guwahati on September 29 as interim chief selector. Ajit Agarkar was absent, and under a BCCI rule the chair passes to the selector with the most Test matches. With 24 Tests, that is Ojha.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir attended the meeting at the Barsapara Stadium with selectors Shiv Sundar Das, RP Singh and Ajay Ratra. The agenda was India’s tour of New Zealand from October 22 to November 27: five T20Is, five ODIs, two Tests and an India A shadow tour.
🚨 Pragyan Ojha roped in as interim chairman of selectors!
In a selection committee meeting in Guwahati today, Ajit Agarkar was absent and Ojha took charge of it as the senior-most selector (based on the number of Tests played) pic.twitter.com/zTRMt1YtLm
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 29, 2026
Ojha holds the chair by a single Test. Who the players actually look to inside that room is a different question from whose name sits at the head of the table.
The rule rewards Test experience, and the panel is tightly bunched at the top.
| Name | Role | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Parthiv Patel | Reported frontrunner, not on panel | 25 |
| Pragyan Ojha | Selector, interim chairman | 24 |
| Shiv Sundar Das | Selector | 23 |
| RP Singh | Selector | 14 |
| Ajay Ratra | Selector | 6 |
PTI reports Ojha is in line to become the next chief selector. Parthiv Patel, named in reports as the frontrunner, has played 25 Tests. If he joins the panel, he outranks Ojha on the same count.
Insider Read
Caps decide who sits at the head of the table. They do not decide who runs the room. When the chairman has one Test more than the man beside him, the chair is a title, not authority.
Real power in selection sits with the voice the coach listens to. Squads get shaped around whoever holds that trust, whatever the caps say. Players know this without being told. They know whose opinion travels from the meeting to the team sheet, and it is not always the name at the top.
Agarkar’s Exit and the October 4 Deadline
Agarkar told the BCCI on September 18 that he would not seek an extension. His term began in July 2023, when he replaced Chetan Sharma, and ends on October 4. Guwahati was not his first missed meeting. He also skipped a review meeting on September 3, reportedly because he was somewhere without internet.
The BCCI annual general meeting authorised its office-bearers to decide on the selectors. Secretary Devajit Saikia gave no name.
“We still have 15 days to go. Fifteen days is a long time in the world of cricket.”
Devajit Saikia, BCCI secretary, after the BCCI AGM, September 18, 2026
“His tenure is going to be over on 4th of October and we have sufficient time till 4th.”
Devajit Saikia, BCCI secretary, as reported on September 24, 2026
Parthiv, now an assistant coach with Gujarat Titans, is reported as the leading candidate. The BCCI has not confirmed any name. Until it does, the chair stays with Ojha.
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