JOIN USThakur bats for reforms
Continuing reforms, increasing professionalism, enhancing fan experience besides more social interface and infrastructure development figure on top of the agenda for Anurag Thakur, who on Sunday was unanimously elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Though blessed with experience as a law-maker and cricket administrator, the young and suave Thakur has a tough task ahead in the light of the Justice Lodha committee recommendations.
“Reforms would continue…we are not running away from the Lodha committee recommendations…We have already made reforms even before their decision was made. We are looking at what is practical. Whenever it is time to do something more, we will do it,” he said at his inaugural press conference at the Cricket Centre, the BCCI headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium here.
The 41-year-old Thakur replaces Shashank Manohar, who has been elected as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the first elected independent head of the game’s governing body for a two-year term.
Thakur was earlier the Honorary Secretary of the BCCI and this place was filled by Ajay Shirke, the President of Maharashtra Cricket Association.
A three-term MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, Thakur, who is the President of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) becomes the second youngest BCCI chief - the first being Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad, who became the BCCI president in 1963 at the age of 33.
Thakur said that the BCCI has a Chief Executive in form of Rahul Johri. “Meanwhile, Santosh Ragnekar has been named as the new Chief Financial Officer,” he said, adding that if needed more people would be brought in to enhance professionalism.
Both Thakur and Shirke seemed to agree with the views of Manohar, who had said that the board had already implemented 75 per cent of the recommendations but expressed reservations with some of the suggestions. “Some minor course corrections would be there. Improvement does not mean reinventing the wheel,” said Shirke.
Thakur said that the matter was “sub-judice” and we need to wait for the judgement to be able to comment further – when he was asked on the issue of advertisements between two overs.
Thakur went on to add: “If you look at Twitter report, the fastest growing league is IPL. If you look at the other side of it, the major revenue comes from home series and advertisement. The state associations create infrastructure. In India, the other sports infrastructure is created by government. In cricket, it is created by BCCI. If you look at the pensions given to ex-cricketers, where is that money coming from? It is coming from this only. Only Thakur and Shirke will suffer? No. It is the state associations.”
Asked about the shifting of IPL games from Maharashtra and whether the cash-rich league would be played overseas due to the problems it faced this year, Thakur said the BCCI was more than willing to contribute to water conservation but the onus was on the government to provide drinking water to everyone.
“We are not government, we are only a cricket body. We should understand what IPL brings to the country. It’s a platform where talent meets opportunity. We generate hundreds of crores of revenue every year. Why should it go out of the country? Who is forcing us?” he asked.
Thakur dismissed suggestions that IPL would be independent of BCCI at any time in the future.
Both Thakur and Shirke refused to answer questions on the cooling off period recommended by the Lodha Committee for office bearers.
“The matter is in court. As office bearers of the BCCI we won’t be able to comment on it,” said Thakur.
“The President has already answered the question. It will be only fair to respond when the judgement of Supreme Court comes,” said Shirke.