Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said that chief selector Ajit Agarkar could have handled communication better when he, along with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, retired from Tests as well. Yet, Ashwin praised Agarkar for his overall period as chief selector, considering the several challenges he faced.

Talking about Agarkar’s overall stint as chief selector, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “As a chairman, he has been pushed into difficult situations several times. He had to handle several big names phasing out. Though there is another side that says many established players like Virat, Rohit, or myself were pushed out. Even I have felt it could have been dealt better and the communication could have been better. But I will segregate the two because I am a player and he was doing his job.”

“Not all the decisions would have been his. He deserves a lot of praise. His exit must be his personal choice. He said the same thing when I retired,” he stated again.

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Ravichandran Ashwin also believes Ajit Agarkar was unfairly criticized when uncertainty kept surrounding Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s place in the Indian side over the past year. Ever since the veteran duo retired from Tests and T20Is, their place in India’s ODI side, with the 2027 World Cup fast approaching, has been a regular topic of discussion as well.

“He (Agarkar) has made some selection mistakes also, but who hasn’t? He gets easily criticized when big players like Rohit or Virat’s place in the team makes the headlines. Let’s not forget Agarkar was also a very good player at one time. That’s why he became the chairman of selectors. So he knows cricket better than the general cricketing audience. There would have been a rationale behind all his moves, and he has done a very commendable job,” R Ashwin concluded.