New BCCI Prez: Old crony wine in new Lodha bottle

By Team Asianet NewsableFirst Published May 24, 2016, 5:17 AM IST
Highlights


I am fearful the BCCI's newly elected president - erroneously reported to be the youngest in its chequered and 88-year history - will also become India's next cricket captain.

If  you think that's far-fetched, read on.

In 2000, Anurag Thakur,  all of 25, took over as the chief of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association. The next day he caught a plane to Jammu, where Himachal were scheduled to play in the Ranji Trophy, selected himself to the team and also named himself the captain.

 

The newly elected BCCI President Shri @ianuragthakur with the board members pic.twitter.com/zFbVhmq7dk

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 22, 2016

 

Anurag Thakur, president of HPCA in 2000, took the field against J&K for his first and only First Class match. He added precisely zero runs to Himachal's lost cause and promptly retired on the fourth afternoon, the day of the defeat.

It can be safely inferred that Thakur's brazen abuse of authority was not guided by a blinding desire to be part of the elite first class cricketers club - or its associated perks by way of pensions and payouts. Surely, the motives of the son of a man who ruled an Indian state for two separate terms cannot be guided by wealth!
 

Hony. Secretary Shri @ianuragthakur filing his nomination papers for BCCI President pollshttps://t.co/egG7KVh2kn

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 21, 2016


Thakur picked himself to play for his state - obviously at the expense of somebody far more qualified and appropriate -  only so he would be allowed a chance to serve the game. Then marking his path up the slippery BCCI hierarchical slope, he was desperate to become a junior selector.

And since it was mandatory by the then BCCI bylaws that a junior selector have first class experience, Thakur was willing to give it his all, even if it meant that popular perception would view his move as a shameless exploitation of power.
 

Congratulations @ianuragthakur for becoming the @BCCI president.. Best wishes 🙏

— Harbhajan Singh (@harbhajan_singh) May 22, 2016


And so began Thakur's journey as a cricket administrator. With his strong political connections, the three-time MP from Hamirpur has been vocally critical of BCCI's internal machinations at times, as he was in 2013 when as a lowly joint secretary, he hit out over N Srinivasan continuing as president in the aftermath of the murky - and still unresolved - IPL spot fixing scam.


Thakur is also viewed as a facilitator beyond compare, especially considering how he has managed to transform his  home state - a quaint, mountainous outpost  - into one of the most scenic sports venues in the world.
 

Congratulations @ianuragthakur in your new role as @BCCI president. Best wishes.

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) May 22, 2016
 

He is also reported to be thick with players, their own man with some (however dubious) first class experience; one who understands their concerns. At 41, and when compared to the relics that have helmed BCCI for so long, he is still young. The 'North Indian' lobbby seems to be particulary taken in by his appointment.

 

Congratulations @ianuragthakur on becoming the youngest BCCI president and all the very best for your tenure paaji.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 23, 2016

 

However, Thakur - as was widely and wrongly reported - is not the youngest-ever BCCI president. That honour is reserved for Fatehsingh Rao Gaekwad, who was 33 when he led from 1963-66.

 

But that doesn't matter. The body's immediate concern is to clean up its house as mandated by the Supreme Court-constituted Lodha Panel. On that count, the new president has already issued statements to the end that only those recommendations that are "practical" would be considered.

 

Here are the plans of the new BCCI president @ianuragthakur#ITVideohttps://t.co/Ri8Z9V6RPi

— India Today (@IndiaToday) May 22, 2016

 

BCCI's past has included other politicians as president, including SN Wankhede, NKP Salve, Madhavrao Scindia and Sharad Pawar. Now that another influential power-broker with all the right connections is heading it, will the body - as has been the fashion - close ranks behind him?


Will Thakur, who is also heading the ruling BJP's youth wing, have time enough to dispense his duties as BCCI president, an always-in-the-crosshairs, all-consuming position? This is why one of the Lodha Panel's recommendations seeks to prevent serving politicians and government officials being part of BCCI administration.
 

Congratulations my friend @ianuragthakur -wishing you my best. https://t.co/8XNith7TiL

— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) May 22, 2016


This much is clear, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Will we soon have a 41-year-old leading the Indian team. Not the youngest BCCI president, but India's oldest captain, perhaps?

click me!