VVS Laxman is set to be appointed as the BCCI’s Director of Cricket, a designation that did not previously exist in Indian cricket’s administrative structure. Laxman currently heads the Board’s Centre of Excellence, overseeing junior teams, player rehabilitation and development pathways for men’s and women’s cricket. His contract will be extended by two years under the new title. Sources have told NDTV that the revised role places him above head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar in the BCCI hierarchy.
The Director of Cricket designation is designed to link every tier of Indian cricket under a single reporting line. Senior coaches, the national selection committee, the Centre of Excellence and youth development pathways will all fall under Laxman’s oversight. He will also take on responsibility for staff appointments going forward. The BCCI sees the role as a way to create a unified approach to talent identification and player development across formats and age groups.
For Laxman, the appointment represents a natural progression. He has been deeply embedded at the Centre of Excellence, working with players at every stage of the development pipeline. His existing responsibilities included overseeing India’s junior teams and managing rehabilitation programmes for senior players returning from injury. The Director of Cricket title formalises an authority he had already been accumulating through daily involvement with both emerging and established cricketers.
The timing of the appointment raises questions. Agarkar’s tenure as chairman of the selection committee is due to end in September, and his role has come under scrutiny over decisions around Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s ODI futures. Gambhir’s position in Test cricket has also been under discussion following India’s poor standing in the World Test Championship points table. The upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka is seen as a potential turning point for his red-ball future.
Sources have confirmed that neither Gambhir nor Agarkar faces an immediate threat. Both are set to retain their current roles until the 2027 World Cup. The structural shift, however, places a new layer of institutional authority above both positions for the first time.
