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The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Cricket Advisory Committee interviewed five candidates for the vacant West Zone position on the senior men’s selection committee on October 15, 2026, according to reports published this week. The candidates reported to have been interviewed were former India players Wasim Jaffer, Ramesh Powar, Salil Ankola, Jacob Martin and Connor Williams. The vacancy arose after Ajit Agarkar’s tenure as chairman of selectors ended on October 4, and the board has yet to announce its final appointment.
Reports identified Jaffer, Powar, Ankola, Martin and Williams as the five candidates interviewed by the Cricket Advisory Committee. The interviews were reportedly conducted virtually. The BCCI had invited applications for one position on the men’s selection committee, with the opening assigned to the West Zone under the board’s zonal arrangement.
The names and interview details have been reported by media outlets citing sources familiar with the process. The BCCI’s final decision remains the authoritative confirmation of who will join the panel, and the interview process itself should not be read as confirmation that any candidate has been selected.
Agarkar’s tenure ended on October 4 after he decided not to seek an extension. The selection committee is responsible for choosing India’s squads across the men’s international formats, making the vacant seat important as the team’s schedule continues across Tests, One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals.
Former left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been serving as interim chairman following Agarkar’s exit. The current committee also includes Shiv Sundar Das, Ajay Ratra and R.P. Singh. The appointment will complete the five-member panel, while the committee’s leadership structure will depend in part on the applicable selection rules and the international playing records of its members.
Jaffer brings extensive Test experience, having played 31 Tests for India and scored 1,944 runs, including five centuries, according to published profiles. His application was confirmed publicly in a separate report by Press Trust of India. Under the existing arrangement described in media reports, the selector with the most Test appearances on the committee may be eligible to become its chair.
Powar played two Tests and 31 One-Day Internationals for India and has also worked as a coach, including with the national women’s team. Ankola represented India in both Tests and ODIs and has previously been associated with the national selection set-up. Martin played 10 ODIs for India, while Williams represented India A and played domestic cricket for Baroda. Their reported interviews indicate a mix of international playing and domestic cricket experience among the candidates.
The Cricket Advisory Committee is tasked with assessing candidates and recommending an appointment. Reports have identified former India players Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjpe among those involved in the process, with some coverage also mentioning Sulakshana Naik. The final composition of the advisory group and the appointment should be confirmed through official BCCI communication.
There has also been discussion in media reports about the implications of the appointment for the chief selector’s position. Jaffer’s Test record is higher than Ojha’s 24 appearances, while reports have described support within the board for Ojha to continue as chair. These are reported considerations rather than an announced outcome, and the BCCI has not publicly confirmed the final selection in the reports cited here.
For now, the confirmed development is that the interview stage has been reported as complete and the West Zone vacancy remains to be formally filled. The next substantive update will be the BCCI or Cricket Advisory Committee’s announcement of the selected candidate and the resulting composition of India’s senior men’s selection panel.
