The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) will host a Special Annual General Meeting on January 20, to discuss the Lodha recommendations and elect a new President for the state board, since Anurag Thakur is now not eligible to continue the post. Thakur has been heading HPCA from the past 16 years but now has been axed, as he has completed nine years in office, the prescribed limit set by the Lodha Panel.

It should be noted that 11 out of 12 office bearers in HPCA are not eligible to continue their post by virtue of spending more than the prescribed period set by Lodha Panel.

Arun Dhumal, the younger brother of Anurag Thakur and Vikram Rathore, the former skipper of Himachal Pradesh Ranji team, are the front-runners for the post. Arun hasn’t played any Ranji match, which might stymie his quest to attain a position in the state board. Rathore also has an issue in his CV as he was born in Punjab and does not have a state domicile.

Anurag Thakur has been leading the state board from past 16 years and was one of the youngest administrators to become the President of the BCCI when he was elected for the post last year. Earlier this year, he was sacked after an order from The Supreme Court Of India on January 2, which made him ineligible to hold the post.

Currently, Anurag Thakur is a Member of Parliament from Hamirpur seat of Himachal Pradesh and one of the youngest MPs for his party. We might now see him turning his interest towards state politics and following his father’s footsteps of becoming the Chief Minister of the state.