Mr Anurag Singh Thakur, 41, President of the BCCI has been associated with cricket administration across various platforms for over 15 years.
His cricket journey began at the age of 14 as a young player and soon he led the Punjab U-16 team that won the all-India Vijay Merchant Trophy. Later, he was the member of the Punjab U-19 team and led North Zone U-19 team. Both the teams went on to win the All-India Championship.
At the age of 25, Anurag Thakur was elected President, HPCA, becoming the youngest person to head a state cricket association affiliated with the BCCI.
Fuelled by a vision to bring international cricket to Himachal Pradesh and provide a platform for aspiring cricketers Anurag Thakur focused his energies on creating modern infrastructure. His efforts resulted in setting up the state of the art HPCA international Stadium at Dharamshala, and excellent cricket infrastructure at Bilaspur, Una, Amtar, Pragati Nagar and Laal Pani in Himachal.
At the BCCI, Anurag Thakur played a significant role from 2001-02 to 2004-05 as a National Junior Selector. He also served in various committees of the BCCI, including IPL Governing Council. In September 2011, he was elevated to the position of Joint Secretary of the BCCI, where his role primarily was to harness young talent and develop junior cricket. In a quest to do so, he initiated regular overseas tour for Under 19 and India A teams to strengthen bench strength and provide a platform to upcoming players.
In March 2015 Anurag Thakur was elected Secretary BCCI and ushering in reforms and pushing forward the agenda of good governance have marked his tenure. His commitment to professionalism led to key appointments and firm belief in openness and transparency resulted in greater information sharing and constructive engagement with fans and other stakeholders. In his tenure as Secretary, the BCCI successfully organised the ICC World T20 2016 in India.
Mr Anurag Thakur is a three time elected Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. He is the only leader to be re-appointed for a third term as the National President of BJYM, the youth wing of the BJP. In 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 is a recipient of the Best Young Parliamentarian Award in 2011 and recognized as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum.
He is married to Shefali Thakur and has two sons, Jaiaditya and Udayveer.
