Following Ajit Agarkar’s decision to step down as Team India’s chief selector, farewell messages have been pouring in for the former India pacer. Among them, head coach Gautam Gambhir also shared an emotional post dedicated to Agarkar.
With a single powerful line “History will be very kind to you” Gambhir summed up Agarkar’s contribution to Indian cricket. Gambhir wrote on social media that it was a great honour for him to have worked alongside Agarkar. He said the three ICC trophies India won during Agarkar’s tenure are a testament to his decisions and performance as chief selector.
Gambhir praised Agarkar for always believing that “the team comes first and the team’s interests are paramount,” rather than prioritising personal interests. He concluded his message by saying, “Dear Ajit Bhai, it was a great experience working with you. Thank you for everything. My heartfelt best wishes for your journey ahead.”
In reality, this does not seem like just an ordinary farewell message. There is a much bigger story behind Gambhir’s words.
During Agarkar’s tenure as chief selector, several controversies surrounded team selection, and his decisions attracted significant criticism. There were intense debates over leaving out some senior players and giving opportunities to newcomers. However, as time passed, the reasoning behind those decisions and their results began to become clearer, according to Gambhir.
And when you look at the results, three ICC trophies won by India stand out as the biggest evidence.
Gambhir did not simply thank Agarkar; he also openly defended the tough decisions he made as chief selector. The job of a selector is not to make decisions that please everyone, but to do what is best for the team. Gambhir highlighted that Agarkar did not hesitate to make decisions that might not have been popular with fans and always gave greater importance to the team’s interests than individual players.
On the field, Gambhir and Agarkar in the selection chair shared a similarly aggressive approach. Their combination became part of a distinctive phase in Indian cricket. With Agarkar now stepping down, that chapter has come to an end. The impact of a selector’s decisions is not always immediately visible. While the results of some decisions can be seen quickly, the value of others becomes clear only after several years.
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Gambhir’s post appears to suggest that, in Agarkar’s case too, time will deliver the final verdict. And when that verdict arrives, there may be no greater evidence of his contribution than the three ICC trophies won by India during his tenure.
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