Riding on cricketing fame, Thakur fought his first Parliamentary elections from his 'hometown' Hamirpur in 2008. This is another thing that his entire business interests are there in Punjab's Jalandhar town.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur, the man who was hailed as next big thing in world cricket, was sacked unceremoniously for not obeying the Supreme Court orders on Monday.
Hailing from a small state like Himachal Pradesh, 42-year-old Thakur shot to fame after he managed to bring international cricket to this hilly region. It is another matter that he got the top post in Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association during the tenure of his chief minister father, Prem Kumar Dhumal, in 2000.
He committed his first blunder the same year when he named himself as captain of Himachal's Ranji team for a match against Jammu & Kashmir. This was basically to fulfill a condition to be eligible to become the national junior selector. Sources say he even drafted his own men in the HPCA to ensure that no one can beat him in the times to come.
HPCA which had 24 votes till he took over, got 25 new life members with voting rights in the same year after Thakur took the top post. This meant that even if all the districts opposed him, his nominees still outnumbered the opposition and could have him elected president in perpetuity.
Riding on cricketing fame, Thakur fought his first Parliamentary elections from his 'hometown' Hamirpur in 2008. This is another thing that his entire business interests are there in Punjab's Jalandhar town.
He won Lok Sabha elections again in 2014. Thakur's became joint secretary of BCCI in 2011. But his biggest jump came in May 2016 when he was elected president of BCCI, after serving secretary for a while, after the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.
He came on the plank to bring in the transparency in BCCI functioning, he was soon seen as the biggest obstruction in implementing the SC orders. From asking ICC to issue a letter to BCCI threatening with action if "govt interferes with working" if Lodha panel recommendations are implemented, Thakur even dared to ignore SC orders asking him to "tender apology" in order to avoid being tried for perjury and contempt.
Even on Monday, Thakur posted his video on social media explaining "how he fought for the autonomy of India's sports bodies".
Thakur maintained that BCCI is the best run sports body in India and Indian team has been doing so well "because of their good administration".
"For me it was not a personal battle, it was a battle for the autonomy of the sports body. I respect Supreme Court as any citizen should.
"If Supreme Court judges feel that BCCI could do better under retired judges, I wish them all the best. I am sure Indian cricket will do well under their guidance," posted Thakur in his video message.
Knowing that having been at the helm of state and BCCI affairs since 2000 he is no more eligible to contest for any post in his lifetime, Thakur now will have to spend his time defending his actions and comments during his tenure.
"My commitment to the best of Indian cricket and autonomy of sports will always remain," he concluded.
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