Former Indian opener and commentator Aakash Chopra has showered praise on the former Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin, who came out in strong support of the Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar, whose stint is expected to end in October 2026.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin had stated that all decisions taken by the Indian selection committee are in the best interest of the team, adding that it’s not an easy task to phase out the senior players.
“The fact is that Ajit Agarkar had the responsibility to take a lot of big decisions in this stint; he had to phase out the senior players, it cannot be easy. I was one of the senior players phased out during his tenure, but still by keeping some distance from that I want to say that he has been a very good chairman of selectors. If we look at what all he has done with the team,” Ashwin had said on his YouTube channel.
Reacting to Ashwin’s comments, Chopra reckoned that it takes guts to say what he has said, adding that more than half of the people are bitter towards the selection committee even after 10-15 years of their retirement.
“It takes guts to say what he has said. More than half of the people I have seen, and I have seen a lot of big players who are bitter. They are bitter because they feel that things did not go right for them. They have grudges, and they are bitter even after 10-15 years. Even after ending cricket and retiring, they are still bitter. They are still carrying that grudge around. I am not going to name names, but there are people like this,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
R Ashwin retired midway through the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series in Australia Down Under. On the other hand, Agarkar’s tenure as India’s chief selector is set to conclude on October 4, 2026, as he has chosen not to seek a contract extension.
