Agarkar also holds another world ODI record, which is the quickest in terms of least number of matches taken to take 200 wickets and complete 1000 runs. Agarkar achieved this feat in 133 matches breaking the previous record held by South African Shaun Pollock, who accomplished this feat in his 138th match. A resident of Narayan Pujari Nagar on Worli Seaface, he was raised by his grandparents at Shivaji Park where many a great cricketer practised and went on to play for India. He is an alumnus of Ruparel College in Matunga, Mumbai.

Agarkar has had a generally poor Test career, with the exception of some performances against Australia in the 1999 series and also the Adelaide Test in 2003. At Adelaide in 2003, Agarkar took 6/41 to set up India's first Test win in Australia in over two decades. However, Agarkar has done decently in ODI cricket, where he takes wickets regularly, although he can be expensive. He can also throw his bat at times, which makes him a potentially useful lower-order batsman. He recently made a comeback to the one day side, and appears more consistent than previously in his career. He was the pick of the bowlers in the one day series during India's tour of West Indies in 2006. He is now a regular member of the Indian one day side.