The new President of the BCCI, Anurag Thakur has come in at a time when the board is fighting a battle against the Supreme Court against its complete re-structuring. This move to make Thakur the President has seemed to have paid off as he has achieved a lot of praise in his short stint as President.
An ambitious go-getter, Anurag Thakur has done a lot of good for the cricket administration in the country, especially in Himachal Pradesh. With the Lodha committee reforms looming over the BCCI, Thakur is ready to face the issue head on, and there is no one better to tackle this issue than him.
Time and again, he has proved as to why he is the right choice to be the President of the BCCI. Let's take a look at the times when Anurag Thakur showed us all who’s boss.
#1 Strict rule against match fixing
Just like a leader should be, Anurag Thakur is against all that is bad for cricket. The combative character he is, he was one of the rarest BCCI officials who had gone on the record, asking then President, N Srinivasan to step down from his post after the match-fixing scandal had broken out. As joint secretary at the time, he did not follow secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke, who quit in a move to embarrass Srinivasan.
Most recently, he introduced a bill in the lower house which proposes 10 years of jail term for any sportsperson who indulges in match fixing. When a lower court in Delhi had recently revoked the MCOCA’s charges against S Sreesanth, Thakur was quick in maintaining that the Kerala speedster’s life ban would not be revoked whatsoever.
Since the beginning of his tenure, there have been no such reports of match fixing, and we all hope that it remains that way.
#2 Responsible for the scenic Dharamsala stadium
Being a Lok Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was the one responsible for the building of the scenic Dharamsala stadium. The venue is unique in India in that it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m (4,780 ft 2 in) above sea level and has the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. It is one of the most scenic stadiums in the world and has played host to a number of ODI and T20matches.
Apart from the Dharamsala stadium, he is also responsible for improving the cricket infrastructure at Bilaspur, Una, Amtar, Pragati Nagar and Laal Pani. Bilaspur and Una have also hosted senior level BCCI matches. Cricket has evolved immensely in the state, thanks to the support of Anurag Thakur.
#3 Against Corruption in cricket
At a time when corruption in various parts of the country regarding cricket is at an all-time high, Anurag Thakur’s Presidency certainly comes as a breath of fresh air. There has been a host of BCCI Presidents who have been involved in some scandal or the other, but with Anurag Thakur at the helm now, it looks like this is going to stop.
An example of his honest attitude was seen when he was the Joint Secretary and the convenor of the selection committee of the victorious 2012 U-19 World Cup. Ankit Bawne, who was named captain initially, was found to be over-aged, Thakur had taken the initiative to ensure that a new captain (Unmukt Chand) is named.
As mentioned earlier, he was not afraid to speak against N Srinivasan when the match-fixing scandal broke out, and also put down his foot when it came to the decision against S Sreesanth.
#4 A clean slate at the Political level
As a Lok Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh, Anurag Thakur is one of the cleanest politicians out there. He was also voted as the young face of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Within Parliament, he serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Member of Public Accounts Committee. He is also the member of Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Forum of WTO. He has been a recipient of the Best Young Parliamentarian Award in 2011 and recognised as a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum.
In a nationwide survey in the run-up to the 2014 General elections, he was rated among India's Top-10 MPs based on his Parliamentary performance and commitment to society at large.
#5 Key decisions have paid off
Anurag Thakur has a good rapport with most of the senior players in the Indian squad, former and current. Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have heaped praise on Thakur as many of his key decisions have paid off.
The likes of Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the national side after he had taken over as the secretary and became the convener of the senior selection committee. All 3 of them had performed well after returning to the squad. Ashish Nehra was one of the best bowlers for India in the recently concluded ICC World T20.
He was also responsible for appointing Rahul Dravid as the coach of the India A and India U-19 cricket teams, and we all have seen how well these 2 teams have done in the recent past. Apart from that, introducing the clause of BCCI officials signing the 'no conflict of interest' clause was also a step that was appreciated.
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