How Anurag Thakur selected himself as captain of Ranji team

On 23 November 2000, on a chilly winter morning at the Maulana Azad Memorial Stadium by the Tawi river in Jammu, Himachal Pradesh faced J&K in what was their fifth match of the 2000-01 Ranji Trophy season. Himachal had by then lost two matches and two others had ended in a draw.

Anurag Thakur, a Himachal player who made his Ranji debut, played a lacklustre innings, getting out for a duck after spending seven minutes at the crease, facing seven balls. But his appearance was remarkable for two reasons.

It was possibly the only time in the 80-year history of Ranji Trophy, India's pre-eminent domestic first class Cricket tournament, that a debuting player was named skipper of a state team. It was also the only instance when the chairman of a state selection committee had selected himself to the team and thought it fit to captain the side.

About two months before that remarkable appearance, Thakur had been elected the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), which meant that he now headed the state selection committee. According to a former HPCA official who served at the time, Thakur had neither appeared in selection trials nor played in inter-district matches—prerequisites to be eligible for a state cap. He was 25 years old then and his father Prem Kumar Dhumal was the chief minister of Himachal. That one appearance gave Thakur first class ranking.

The next year, when it was Himachal's turn to nominate a national selector in a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the state association president, Thakur, nominated himself, armed with the eligibility of having played in a Ranji side. With cricketing experience of one first class match in which he failed to score a run (but took two wickets), Thakur served as a national junior selector for the next three years. (The BCCI has subsequently raised the eligibility for selectors to 25 Ranji matches). Thakur told ET that he decided to play in that match as Himachal cricket was then in "shambles" and he wanted to "change the attitude" of the team. He said the selectors had asked him to play as he had excellent under-19 and under-16 credentials.

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Anurag Thakur seeks Virbhadra’s resignation

BJP MP and President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Anurag Thakur on Thursday demanded the resignation of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh who is also an MP. Thakur said the Chief Minister and his wife should explain why Rs 3.95 crore was deposited in their accounts by one Bakamullah Chandrashekhar. He demanded that a CBI inquiry should be conducted on the matter.

Thakur, while addressing a press conference here on Thursday said, that while Rs 2.40 crore has been deposited in the account of the Chief Minister, Rs 1.50 crore was deposited in his wife's account. "The Chief Minister explain as to why the amount was deposited in his account, whether it was for some work or for some trade. Why is the Chief Minister not replying to the allegations? Why is he not facing the media and cancelling his travel plans?" asked Thakur.

He further alleged that the income and investment of the Chief Minister has increased manifold. The LIC policies that were of several lakhs till a few years back have now increased to several crores. He said that BJYM would take to the streets to demand his resignation the same way they forced the resignation of former Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in the wake of the rail bribery scam.

On being asked about the case registered against him and his brother in an alleged land scam, Thakur said that all the allegations were false and were made due to political vendetta.

Thakur for setting up zonal cricket academies

Shimla, Sep 29 (IANS) Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) joint secretary Anurag Thakur Sunday said cricket academies at zonal level would be set up to sharpen skills at the junior level.

Via: http://in.news.yahoo.com/thakur-setting-zonal-cricket-academies-151005491.html

HPCA used education dept land without permission: Vigilance bureau

The probe being conducted into the allotment of land to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) has now revealed that around 700 square meters of land belonging to the education department was included in the stadium without any prior permission and structures on this piece of land were razed without any approval. After coming to know about this fact, now the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau officials are going to question education department officials.

ADGP (vigilance bureau) Prithviraj Singh said that during investigation illegal encroachment on 700 square meters of land was found on the part of HPCA. "This land belonged to education department but now is part of the stadium," he said. The ADGP said that an inquiry had further revealed that existing structures on this land were demolished without any permission.

Now the vigilance bureau has decided to seek an explanation from the education department whether any permission was obtained by HPCA for transfer of the land, and if not then why the education department did not lodge a complaint. According to vigilance sources, residential quarters were to be made for college staff on the said land.

HPCA is already facing a probe for turning the association into a company on a "fake address" given while registering the company in Kanpur and also for alleged changes in land lease agreement. In a bid to stop HPCA president Anurag Thakur from participating in the voting for Belection being held on September 29, Registrar Cooperative Societies has sent a letter to BCCI president on Wednesday informing him that for election HPCA is not a valid body owing to ongoing dispute, sources said.

On August 1 this year, the vigilance bureau had registered a case against HPCA for cheating and misleading state authorities while on September 7, the Registrar of Societies, Shimla, had issued directions to the Kangra district administration for superintendence control of the association.

While hearing a petition filed by HPCA, a division bench of Chief Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice Kuldip Singh recently directed the petitioners to appear before the Registrar of Societies on September 30, 2013 at 11:30 am and to submit their objections, preliminary objections, which shall be decided by the Registrar of Societies.

Trouble for Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association

There was more trouble for the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, as the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau found the sports body's initially registered address in Kanpur as "bogus". During a recent investigation, state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau found that the Kanpur address was bogus. A team led by assistant superintendent of police Jograj Jariyal visited the Kanpur address. "A vigilance team had visited Kanpur and found that the office associated with the HPCA is fictitious and non-existent," an investigator told IANS, on the condition of anonymity, here Tuesday.