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Pragyan Ojha is India's new chief selector: Ramesh Powar joins, Agarkar era ends
The BCCI on 19 October 2026 named Pragyan Ojha chairman of the men's selection committee and appointed Ramesh Powar to the vacant West Zone seat left by Ajit Agarkar. Ojha got the chair on seniority (24 Tests), and his panel's first full job is India's tour of New Zealand, which starts on 22 October.
TL;DRThe short version
- Ojha takes the chair: The BCCI on Monday, 19 October 2026 named Pragyan Ojha chairman of India's men's selection committee. He gets it on seniority by Tests played (24), the rule the board has used for the panel (BCCI media advisory).
- Powar fills Agarkar's seat: Ramesh Powar (2 Tests, 31 ODIs; former India women's head coach) joins as the fifth selector after the Cricket Advisory Committee of Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjape unanimously recommended him. He replaces Ajit Agarkar, whose tenure ended this month.
- First job is already here: Ojha's panel picked the New Zealand ODI and Test squads on 16 October as an interim group. The tour starts with the 1st T20I on Thursday, 22 October, 12:30 PM IST in Christchurch (Zee News schedule).
- Read the BCCI's official announcement and the full five-member panel: bcci.tv media advisory, 19 Oct 2026
Key facts
- New chief selector
- Pragyan Ojha (South Zone), chair based on seniority: most Tests on the panel (24)
- New member
- Ramesh Powar, recommended unanimously by the CAC (Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape)
- Replaces
- Ajit Agarkar, chairman since July 2023; his tenure ended in early October 2026 (ICC, 7 Oct)
- Full panel
- Pragyan Ojha (chair), Shiv Sundar Das, RP Singh, Ajay Ratra, Ramesh Powar
- Announced
- Monday, 19 October 2026 (BCCI media advisory signed by secretary Devajit Saikia)
- Ojha's playing record
- 24 Tests (113 wickets), 18 ODIs, 6 T20Is (India Today)
- Powar's playing record
- 2 Tests, 31 ODIs; coached India women (Asia Cup title, Commonwealth Games silver), Mumbai, Gujarat and at the BCCI Centre of Excellence
- Next fixture
- India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I, Thu 22 Oct 2026, 12:30 PM IST, Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Short answer: Pragyan Ojha is now India's chief selector. The BCCI confirmed it on Monday, 19 October 2026, in the same advisory that appointed Ramesh Powar to the seat Ajit Agarkar left. Ojha didn't win a separate vote for the chair. The board gives it to the selector with the most Tests, and his 24 are the most on the new five-man panel.
The new selection committee, by seniority
The BCCI says the chair goes to the most senior member by Tests played. Here's how the five stack up (Test counts from CricketNews.com and the BCCI advisory; zones from InsideSport and The Telegraph):
| Selector | Zone | Tests played | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pragyan Ojha | South | 24 | Chairperson |
| Shiv Sundar Das | East | 23 | Member |
| RP Singh | Central | 14 | Member |
| Ajay Ratra | North | 6 | Member |
| Ramesh Powar | West | 2 | Member (new) |
Shiv Sundar Das is just one Test behind Ojha. Before Powar arrived, Ojha had already been running the four-man panel as interim head after Agarkar's contract ran out in early October (Sportstar, CricketNews.com).
Why it went to Ojha and not someone bigger
The interesting bit is who didn't get in. India Today reports that Wasim Jaffer applied for the vacancy. With 31 Tests, he'd have outranked Ojha and become chairman automatically under the seniority rule. The Telegraph's sources say the board preferred continuity before the 2027 ODI World Cup. Ojha has worked with the team management for over a year, so the BCCI picked Powar for the West Zone seat instead.
The Telegraph also says Parthiv Patel, widely tipped for the job, never applied. It reports that the role pays around ₹3 crore a year, which would have meant giving up TV commentary and his IPL work with Gujarat Titans. That figure is reported, not official.
Who is Ramesh Powar?
Powar is a former off-spinner who played 2 Tests and 31 ODIs for India. His bigger CV is in coaching. He was head coach of the India women's team, which won the Asia Cup and a Commonwealth Games silver under him. He also coached Mumbai and Gujarat and was bowling coach at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (BCCI advisory). Hindustan Times gives his age as 48.
The CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee) of Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjape interviewed the applicants at BCCI headquarters and recommended Powar unanimously.
Why Agarkar left
Agarkar was appointed in July 2023. The BCCI credits his panel with three ICC trophies, two Asia Cup titles and back-to-back Asian Games golds. Hindustan Times lists those ICC wins as the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The exit wasn't only about the calendar. PTI-sourced reports carried by India Today and Hindustan Times in September described three pressure points:
- Rohit Sharma's ODI future. The panel and team management had decided to move on from Rohit after the Lord's ODI. Then the BCCI put out a statement backing him that, per a senior official quoted by PTI, blindsided Agarkar.
- Friction with VVS Laxman at the Centre of Excellence over injured players and India A scheduling.
- A missed review meeting in Mumbai after the England series defeat.
Agarkar last chaired a selection meeting in mid-September, for the West Indies white-ball squads (Hindustan Times).
01
Myth Pragyan Ojha became chairman because he was the most experienced applicant.
Fact He became chairman by the board's seniority rule, which counts Tests played among the five selectors. Ojha's 24 Tests are the most on the panel. Wasim Jaffer, who has 31 Tests, applied for the vacancy but was not picked, so the rule never came into play for him (India Today).
02
Myth Ramesh Powar is the new chief selector.
Fact No. Powar joins as a member. The BCCI advisory names Ojha as chairperson.
03
Myth The new panel will now redo the New Zealand squads.
Fact There's no sign of that. The ODI and Test squads were announced on 16 October by the men's selection committee, then a four-man group with Ojha as interim head. The BCCI's 19 October advisory doesn't mention any change to them.
What the new panel faces first
The India team leaves for a long New Zealand tour almost immediately. Times below are from the Zee News schedule and the BCCI's 16 October advisory:
- 5 T20Is: 22 Oct (Christchurch), 24 Oct (Christchurch), 27 Oct (Wellington), 30 Oct (Auckland) and 1 Nov (Hamilton). All start at 12:30 PM IST.
- 5 ODIs: 4, 7, 10, 13 and 15 Nov, all at 7:30 AM IST. Shubman Gill captains the first three and Shreyas Iyer the last two.
- 2 Tests: from 19 Nov in Wellington and 27 Nov in Christchurch, both at 3:30 AM IST.
The split ODI squads were already Ojha's interim panel's work. So were Ruturaj Gaikwad's place across all five ODIs and Jasprit Bumrah being kept for the Tests only. That's why 'ruturaj gaikwad' was trending alongside Ojha today. The Telegraph adds that VVS Laxman will play a bigger, regular role in selection meetings from now on, to keep the selectors and the Centre of Excellence in step on fitness.
What to watch
The real test for Ojha is the run to the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, which is what broke Agarkar's tenure: the calls on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and how quickly Yashasvi Jaiswal gets ODI games. Ojha, reported to be one of Rohit's closest friends, was the selector asked to deliver the original decision to him (India Today, citing PTI). How his panel handles those calls will define his time in the chair.
Trend Monitor
Searches for Pragyan Ojha jumped within minutes of the BCCI advisory on Monday afternoon. Google Trends interest for 'pragyan ojha' in India (pytrends, geo=IN, now 1-d) was near zero through Monday afternoon until about 4 PM IST, then climbed to 28, 68, 86 and 100 by about 4:42 PM IST. Google's Trending Now feed for India listed 'pragyan ojha' at 1,000+ searches (~4:20 PM IST), alongside 'ruturaj gaikwad' (200+) linked to the New Zealand squads. On X India trends (~4:47 PM IST), 'Pragyan Ojha', 'Ramesh Powar', 'Ajit Agarkar' and the Hindi 'चयन समिति' (selection committee) were all trending. The top related search was 'pragyan ojha stats'.
- pragyan ojha1,000+ searches (Google Trending Now, India, ~4:20 PM IST, 19 Oct); interest 0 to 100 in about 40 minutes (pytrends now 1-d)
- pragyan ojha statstop related query (pytrends, now 1-d, geo=IN)
- ruturaj gaikwad200+ searches (Google Trending Now, India, ~4:10 PM IST)
Google Trends, India, rising queries, 30 days