India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday posted a farewell message for Ajit Agarkar, whose tenure as chairman of selectors ended on October 4. The Board of Control for Cricket in India invited fresh applications for the chief selector’s post a day later, with a deadline of October 14 at 5 pm IST.

Gambhir wrote on X that Agarkar’s three ICC trophies were testimony to his conviction of putting the team first and ahead, always. Under Agarkar’s tenure, India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2026 T20 World Cup.

The BCCI advertisement seeks applications for the West Zone seat. Candidates must have played at least seven Tests or 30 first-class matches, or 10 ODIs along with 20 first-class games, and must have retired at least five years ago.

Former spinner Pragyan Ojha, who played 24 Tests and took 144 international wickets, will handle the selection duties in the interim. The new panel faces an immediate test with New Zealand touring India from October 22 to November 27 for five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests. Cricbuzz reported that white-ball probables were to be finalised on October 7.