Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra praised Ravichandran Ashwin for backing outgoing chief selector Ajit Agarkar. On Wednesday, Ashwin hailed Agarkar’s tenure and said the former fast bowler took some tough calls during his stint.
Agarkar’s reign will end on October 4 and he will not extend his contract. During Agarkar’s reign, star players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin announced their Test retirement.
Furthermore, Suryakumar Yadav was also dropped after leading India to T20 World Cup glory as he wasn’t in the best of form.
Chopra said some of the former players hold grudges for as long as 15 years with the selectors for not backing them but Ashwin showed guts in praising Agarkar.
“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.
Chopra praised Agarkar for bringing down the superstar culture and initiating a transition period to take Indian cricket in the right direction.
“We all felt that something happened with Ash, and he did that and all that. Ash is a pretty upfront guy, a completely honest guy who speaks what’s in his heart. He admitted that whoever has to handle a transition, it is a very difficult task for them. Agarkar has thought about how to take Indian cricket forward, it is not about worshipping players or looking at records,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Many people abuse him, they are toxic people who talk a lot about Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir. There are so many realities that Ajit knows but can’t say because he is contractually bound. So, if R Ashwin, who was part of the transition, is saying that Ajit Agarkar has done a good job, I am going to take it at face value,” he concluded.
Under Agarkar’s tenure, India won two T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, and the Men in Blue also won the 2025 Champions Trophy.
