BCCI meets to chart India's path to the ODI World Cup

The BCCI is holding a stock-taking meeting at its Mumbai headquarters on Thursday. The brief is India's recent form and a roadmap through the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Expected in the room: head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Centre of Excellence cricket head V.V.S. Laxman, white-ball captains Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. Other office-bearers may join on video.

Agarkar's contract ends this month. He took charge in July 2023 and can stay until next September under the four-year selector cap. An extension would cover the World Cup, which starts in October 2027 across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Also on the agenda: poor limited-overs results in Ireland and England, injury management at the CoE, and scheduling clashes such as India-A's New Zealand shadow tour overlapping the senior ODI series there. Tension between Agarkar and the board over Rohit Sharma's international future is expected to come up.

Saikia had called for a review right after the England tour in mid-July. It slipped because key people were unavailable.

India's white-ball teams have been losing series and ranking ground. Selectors, coach, and captains in one room is rare. Whether Agarkar stays sets the tone for World Cup planning more than any single squad list.

Decisions on Agarkar's tenure and any injury-system changes should surface soon after Thursday. The New Zealand tour and the November Test series are the next hard deadlines on the calendar.