I want to see the Indian team as No. 1 in all formats: Anurag Thakur

Anurag Thakur has had a wonderful journey so far in his career as a cricket administrator. In a smooth change of guard, the 41-year-old became the second youngest BCCI president just a few weeks ago after Shashank Manohar resigned from the post.

The 41-year-old, however, has a tough job to take care of given that the embattled board is facing the heat of Supreme Court. It would be interesting to see whether how he will help the world’s richest board through choppy waters.

“I never thought about positions,” said Thakur with speaking with ESPNcricinfo. “Since my re-entry into cricket as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, I have given my 100%. Posts never mattered to me. I was offered the position of [BCCI] vice-president way back in 2001, which I did not accept because I wanted to do something for Himachal cricket. Once I felt Himachal could thrive and survive on its own, only then did I switch over to BCCI positions.”

Anurag Thakur’s was unanimously elected as the BCCI president after a series of unexpected events.

Thakur feels that destiny played a big role in his upheaval. The circumstances also say something similar. Mr. Manohar decided to move on to the ICC. Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was next in line for the post, unfortunately, passed away.

“Destiny plays its role. Many people in the BCCI know that things could have happened a year and a half back but, as I said, it was never the position that mattered to me. At the time, we thought Mr. Dalmiya was the best person, and then Mr. Manohar. But then others decided that I should take over and run the board.”

Thakur has taken up the job at perhaps the most challenging phase in the history of the BCCI. In a couple of months, a court order could come that will fundamentally change the way the board is run. The Supreme court is keen on revamping the workings of the Indian board using the Lodha panel’s recommendations.

“Life throws us a challenge every day, so we have to accept that [and think] how do we convert this into an opportunity. I feel the courts will also understand what the BCCI has contributed in the last eight decades; they won’t overlook it. I agree one or two mistakes may have been made in the past, but then there are shortcomings in every organization. We can’t go for an overhaul in everything. Is there an overhaul of the judiciary or the bureaucracy? No.”

“If I am somewhere for cricket, then that is my focus. Hardly 1-2% of my time will be dedicated to political activity then.”

Thakur also says that he wants to upgrade the facilities in India, especially technologically.

“I think we have not invested enough in research and development. For example, if you look at our National Cricket Academy (NCA), we still look at Australia for any new technology or new systems that they have put in place. The BCCI has to do that [research and development] for Indian cricket, and that can further help world cricket.”

He seems to have very clear goals about where he wants to see India in future.

“I want to see the Indian team as No. 1 in all formats. We [the BCCI] want to be more transparent, accountable and bring in more professionalism. Apart from that, we want to look at green initiatives, support deaf and dumb cricket etc. There will be many reforms that will change the people’s perception of the BCCI.”

“The board does a great job, organizes 800-plus matches over a year. This is not easy. How many associations can manage to shift matches between venues in the space of seven days? We have created good infrastructure over the years, which is our asset. I have to take all the state units together and strengthen them so that we can easily handle any situation the BCCI comes across.”

“Every administrator who works with responsibility leaves something behind. Look at the past presidents, they have all given something to the game. We learn from their experiences and we take decisions in the best interests of the game. There is a lot of criticism of Mr. Srinivasan but he should also get due credit for the work he did.”