“There might be a messy end for Ajit Agarkar” - Former cricketer’s stunning claim on India’s chief selector ahead of AUS vs IND 2025 ODIs

Former England pacer Steve Harmison fired shots at India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar with a massive claim ahead of India's ODI series against Australia. The Men in Blue are set to play three ODIs Down Under beginning October 19.

Veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been included in the ODI squad. The duo last played international cricket during the 2025 Champions Trophy. There had been a lot of speculation around their future in the Indian team and their place in the 2027 ODI World Cup.

While they have been picked for the Australia series, it may not guarantee their spots for the mega event. Ajit Agarkar stated that players, whenever fit and available, would have to play domestic cricket to remain in contention for selection.

Steve Harmison reckoned that there could be a messy end for Agarkar in this entire situation. He made a stunning claim that Agarkar may not win over former captains Kohli and Rohit. However, he reflected that it was fair enough if Agarkar made the 'domestic cricket' statement only to fuel the veteran duo.

"Unfortunately I think there might be a messy end for Ajit Agarkar there. If anybody is going to win here I think it is the former captains rather than the former all-rounder. But it all depends on, if Agarkar is saying this, just to fuel the fire of Kohli and Sharma, then fair enough. You put your cards on the table and see what comes," he said on talkSPORT Cricket.

Talking about the two Indian senior pros, Harmison reckoned that Kohli had more skin in the game as compared to Rohit. He reflected that going into the World Cup without Kohli, who has a phenomenal record in ODIs, particularly while chasing, could lead to a messy end.

"I think Kohli has got a little bit of skin in the game. Runs in the bank, his reputation. Sharma, not as much. Sharma's a little bit older. He's not been as influential in 50-over cricket as Virat has. If Virat turns around and says, "All right, you go to the 50-over World Cup without me and leading up to it, let's see when you're chasing 350 in 50 overs to win against Australia or England, and you haven't got that bloke who averages 90 winning games at number four, see where your teams at". There could be a messy end in that way. There could also be words that have been misunderstood in translation," he added.

Kohli has scored 8064 runs while chasing in ODIs. These include 28 hundreds and 41 half-centuries with a best score of 183. Moreover, he has seven centuries while chasing totals in excess of 300 in the format, which are the most by any batter.

---

"That could possibly be the way it was put across" - Steve Harmison on India chief selectors' message

While Harmison did claim that it would be a messy end for India's chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, he also reckoned that the message may have been blown out of proportion.

Harmison reckoned that Ajit might just want Kohli and Rohit to play a bit of domestic cricket, as they are not playing a lot of international cricket. The two Indian stalwarts retired from T20Is and Tests and will only play ODIs.

"He might just have said I want them to play because they are not going to be playing. That's the problem. They're not playing Test cricket, they're not playing T20 cricket. They're only going to play the IPL. And if 50-over cricket is at the back end of the year, not when the IPL is, we could do with them playing a couple of domestic games. That could possibly be the way it was put across by Agarkar and it has been blown out of proportion," he said.

The Australia series will be crucial for both Kohli and Rohit. It will be important for them to score runs and prove their worth. Rohit is no longer the ODI captain as well, with Shubman Gill being announced as his successor ahead of the Australia tour.