Ajit Agarkar has been stationed in Ahmedabad on domestic duty since November 26, even as Indian cricket continues to absorb the impact of the 0–2 home Test defeat to South Africa. The chairman of selectors, often criticised for prioritising international commitments over India’s domestic structure, has been overseeing Group D matches of the ongoing national T20 championship, currently being played across multiple cities.
The Agarkar-led selection panel has been under growing scrutiny for allegedly being out of touch with domestic cricket. Selections of Test players based on white-ball performances and the preference for all-rounders over specialists have fuelled debate. Recent picks such as Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Reddy have been closely watched, while omissions of Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair continue to be widely discussed.
While selection remains a collective decision of the five-member committee, Agarkar has faced the bulk of the criticism due to his frequent presence on overseas tours and international games. It remains unclear if his current domestic stint is part of a BCCI directive following India’s Test defeat, but he has been at the Narendra Modi Stadium for the past few days monitoring the competition.
Among the other selectors, Pragyan Ojha will travel with the Indian team for the upcoming three-match ODI series in South Africa beginning Sunday, November 30. SS Das (Kolkata), RP Singh (Lucknow) and Ajay Ratra (Hyderabad) are also on Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy duty across different centres.
The Test series loss has triggered wider discussions about the state of red-ball cricket in India, including speculation about whether senior players who stepped away from the format could be approached to reconsider. While there is no indication that Virat Kohli has been contacted, the idea has begun circulating, and there is a belief that at least one recently retired player may be open to rethinking his decision.
John Wright also present in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad has also become a key scouting hub, with several IPL franchise talent evaluators attending SMAT matches. Former India coach and long-time Mumbai Indians scout John Wright is among the notable names in the city. Wright, credited with spotting Jasprit Bumrah during his early years, is tracking performances closely ahead of the IPL auction on December 16.
Others present in Ahmedabad include Varun Aaron, Parthiv Patel, Kiran More and Vijay Bharadwaj. Teams from Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Saurashtra, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Tripura are currently playing matches across the various grounds at the Narendra Modi Stadium complex, drawing more attention than other centres.