Anurag Thakur becomes youngest BCCI president
Thakur is known as a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PHOTO: TWITTER
India's cricket board on Sunday elected 41-year-old current secretary Anurag Thakur as its youngest ever president, one of the most powerful positions in world sport.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted pictures on Twitter of its members congratulating Thakur after electing him at a meeting in Mumbai where he was the only nomination for the post.
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Thakur, who is a member of parliament for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, succeeds Shashank Manohar who stepped down earlier this month to become the first independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The top post at the cash-rich BCCI is regarded by many as the most powerful in global cricket. The board benefits from huge TV deals that allow it effectively to run the world governing body the ICC with its allies, Australia and England.
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But the embattled BCCI is under enormous pressure to introduce reforms after it was tarnished by several scandals including corruption and fixing accusations in the glitzy Indian Premier League.