The Indian cricket board (BCCI) appointed former India wicket keeper Ajay Ratra in the senior national selection committee in place of Salil Ankola. Ankola was relieved of his duties as chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar too belonged to Mumbai.
It took BCCI nearly three months to announce the appointment after seeking applications immediately after the IPL 2024. Sources said that the decision to appoint Ratra was taken a month ago but the board delayed the announcement as he was assigned to coach the India ‘A’ women’s team in Australia last month. Ratra will be assuming charge from the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
The other shortlisted candidates for the job were Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Ajay Mehra and Shakti Singh. Ratra pipped others to the job as he has been an integral part of BCCI’s system over the past few years. Ratra, who played six Tests and 12 ODIs for India, has coached Punjab, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. He was the head coach of Punjab when Shubman Gill was fast-tracked into the senior state team. He has also been a part of the coaching staff at the National Cricket Academy.
“Ratra brings with him a wealth of experience and an impressive track record in both domestic and international cricket.Ratra has extensive coaching experience having worked as head coach of Assam, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. He was also a part of the coaching staff of the Indian team during their ODI series in South Africa in 2023. His insights will be instrumental to the committee in ensuring that the best talent is identified, nurtured, and given the opportunity to excel at the highest level,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
