Ramesh Powar tipped to replace Ajit Agarkar as BCCI senior selector; Dodda Ganesh likely to head junior panel

Powar in pole position for senior selection panel

Ramesh Powar is a favourite to succeed Ajit Agarkar on the BCCI's senior men's selection committee, according to Cricbuzz. The former India spinner from Mumbai is expected to join the panel, which will be headed by Pragyan Ojha. Ojha is currently heading the panel on an interim basis.

The deadline for applications to the senior panel closed on October 14. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) then interviewed four or five candidates on October 15, including former India opener Wasim Jaffer. Cricbuzz understands the CAC has decided to repose faith in Powar, who featured in two Tests and 31 ODIs for India.

Other candidates interviewed for the senior selection role included Connor Williams and Jacob Martin, both former Baroda players, and Mumbai's Salil Ankola.

Parthiv Patel not in the running after all

Parthiv Patel had been reported as a strong contender to head the new selection committee. However, he had apparently not applied for the position and was not among those interviewed.

VVS Laxman's expanded role

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had earlier explained why VVS Laxman attended a selection committee meeting in Guwahati earlier this month. Laxman was also reportedly part of Friday's online selection meeting to pick the ODI and Test squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour. Going forward, he is expected to keep attending selection meetings to provide a better understanding of players' injury status and availability. It now appears the panel will have a permanent representative from the Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Junior selection panel takes shape

Powar was also interviewed for the junior selection panel and was initially considered for the chairman's role before being co-opted into the senior panel. The junior chairman role may now go to Dodda Ganesh, a former India pacer from Karnataka.

According to sources, the likely selectors for the Under-19 panel include:

North Zone: Arun Sharma of Jammu & Kashmir, who played 65 first-class and 47 List A games between 1994 and 2009.
West Zone: A certain L Pawar, a former Gujarat player.
East Zone: A certain Bora from Assam, most likely 54-year-old Deep Bora.
Central Zone: Pankaj Singh, although this is not yet confirmed.

Note that these appointments are reported as likely and have not been officially confirmed by the BCCI.