Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has praised ex-India spinner R Ashwin for showing support to outgoing BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Agarkar, who was appointed as chief of the BCCI selection committee in 2023, has reportedly not sought an extension for his tenure that ends on October 4.

During his tenure as head, Agarkar never shied away from unpopular decisions. Ashwin was empathetic to Agarkar’s situation on his YouTube channel.

“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, and 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 said on his YouTube channel.

Aakash Chopra praised R Ashwin for what he said about Ajit Agarkar, who is reportedly ending his term on a sour note. Reports stated that Agarkar and the rest of the selection committee wanted to move on from Rohit Sharma, and even the opener relayed the message as well.

However, Rohit complained to BCCI officials, and secretary Devajit Saikia officially confirmed that Mumbai will continue playing for the Indian team.

“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 about Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Chopra accepted the opinion because, according to him, there must be a lot of activity happening backstage—activity that Agarkar knows about but is unable to share. Chopra also believed that people criticizing him were unaware of this background factor.

“We all felt that something happened with Ash, and he did 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.

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,” Chopra concluded.

Under Ajit Agarkar’s tenure, the Indian team underwent a transition with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from T20Is and Tests and R Ashwin retiring from all international cricket. The Indian team excelled in white-ball cricket, winning the two T20 World Cups and the ICC Champions Trophy.

However, the Indian team struggled in red-ball cricket, losing the home Test series to New Zealand and South Africa and the away series to Australia.