BCCI elect Anurag Thakur as new president

Although it was the most likely choice, the former secretary of the BCCI, Anurag Thakur has been elected as the new president of the board. The 41-year old who also happens to be a member of Parliament from the Himachal Pradesh area stepped into the shoes of outgoing president Shashank Manohar. The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) official twitter account came to life in the early hours of Sunday morning (May 22) when the new president was announced.

At 41, Anurag Thakur becomes the youngest president of the board. He also fought off competition from the likes of Ajay Shirke and current IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla. Thakur filed his nomination papers on Saturday and was unanimously elected as the president of the board the following day.

Thakur stepped into the role vacated by Nagpur-based lawyer Shashank Manohar. The latter stepped down from his position after just seven months in the role to become the chairman of the ICC. Having become the undisputed chairman of the International cricket council, Manohar was also present to witness the election of his successor. A dinner function was also reported to take place to felicitate Manohar on achieving the job of ICC chairman.

Manohar was serving his second stint as the president of the BCCI following the untimely death of former president Jagmohan Dalmiya. The former’s stint as BCCI president yielded some of the best and transparent governance from the board. However, at the moment, Anurag Thakur now seems to be the fresh face of the BCCI. With his election, the SGM position remains open to a number of candidates. Ajay Shirke, Maharashtra Cricket Association president, has been nominated as his secretary by the new president.