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Anurag Thakur

Sourav Ganguly, IPL, Coronavirus, IPL 2020
Sourav Ganguly. Credits: BCCI
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Sourav Ganguly Is Stable After A Mild Heart Attack And To Be Discharged Soon

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Sourav Ganguly, BCCI president and former Indian captain who has suffered a “mild” heart attack, is stable and likely to be discharged on Wednesday, hospital authorities said.

A nine-member board of senior doctors discussed Sourav Ganguly’s condition on Monday and reached a consensus that though necessary, angioplasty can be deferred to a later date as he is stable, according to Woodlands Hospital MD and CEO Dr Rupali Basu’s confirmation.

Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP) (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images)

Sourav Ganguly’s Angioplasty Will Take Place Later And He Will Be Discharged Soon

Renowned cardiologists Dr Devi Shetty and Dr RK Panda participated in the meeting through a virtual platform while another expert from the US was also part of the discussion over the phone.

“The medical board came to a consensus that deferring angioplasty for now is a safer option as Mr Ganguly is stable, does not have chest pain and is on optimal management,”

Devi Shetty, Sourav Ganguly
Devi Shetty, Sourav Ganguly

Dr Rupali Basu, a member of the board, said. “The cricket great’s family members were present during the meeting and were explained about the disease process and further therapeutic plan. The angioplasty will take place for sure in a few days or weeks. He will be discharged most probably the day after tomorrow,” she said.

Dr Devi Shetty is likely to visit him at hospital premises on Tuesday and sit for another meeting for the next course of treatment before the final call on discharging him will be taken.

“Treating doctors will keep a constant vigil on his health condition and take appropriate measures at his home after he is discharged,” Dr Basu said.

The cricketing fraternity also poured in their wishes for Sourav Ganguly’s speedy recovery after he underwent a primary angioplasty in Kolkata as he suffered “chest discomfort while doing tread mill at his home gym”. The former India captain had a critical blockage in one artery which has been fixed.

Sourav Ganguly Appeared Fine And Soon Will Be Back To Normal Life: Anurag Thakur

Forty-eight-year-old Sourav Ganguly had earlier undergone angioplasty after suffering a “mild” heart attack on Saturday. He was diagnosed with three blocked coronary arteries, following which a stent was inserted in one to remove the blockage.

Anurag Thakur
Anurag Thakur-Photo Credit: Getty Images

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur visited the hospital to see Sourav Ganguly and expressed hope that the cricket board president will soon return to his normal life.

“Dada is a hero of the country. He has seen a lot of ups and downs in cricket and defeated his opponents numerous times. He will do the same this time. Sourav was smiling when I met him today. He appeared fine and I know he will be back to his normal life soon and will play an important role in taking Indian cricket to the next level. He has to play a very vital role, first in the BCCI and then in several other fields for the country,” Thakur added.

Anurag Thakur was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from May 2015 to February 2017. He was sacked from his position of BCCI president after the Supreme Court ordered him to cease and desist works within BCCI.

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Ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur Bats for Legalising Betting in India, Says Will Help Curb Match-fixing
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Ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur Suggests For Legalising Betting In India

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Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, who was also Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2016-2017, stated that legalising batting in India would stop match-fixing and other unholy practice while also help him boost the economy.

Anurag Thakur made the remarks at an event hosted by ICICI Securities, responding to a suggestion by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister’s (EACPM) part-time member and mutual fund industry veteran Nilesh Shah, who pitched for legalising betting in the country.

Betting can become a potent tool to stop fixing: Anurag Thakur

Ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur Suggests For Legalising Betting In India 1
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant (Image Credit: IPL)

He said that there was an instinct among Indians to bet and gamble so, it would be better to bring in the mainstream while legalizing it. Former BCCI president believes that it would bring good some of the revenue which could be used in the betterment of sports.

“My suggestion will be to legalise betting and gambling activities, which are underground. They continue to exist in our society,” he said.

Thousands of crore of revenue comes to the exchequer through the activity and it gets spent on development of the sport or in other activities, he said.

Ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur Suggests For Legalising Betting In India 2
Marcus Stoinis and Shikhar Dhawan (Image Credit: IPL)

Anurag Thakur added that the match-fixing would also lead to the control of the match-fixing problem.

“If we look at the problem of match-fixing, then the trends in betting can give us leads on whether something unholy is happening or not. Betting can become a potent tool to stop fixing, he said.

Currently, betting in India is illegal in most parts of India, but every time around Indian Premier League (IPL), several cases are reported of people being found practicing betting. Also, as there is no law which states online betting is illegal, some companies are taking advantage of this loophole. Mobile Premier League (MPL), Dream 11 and My Circle 11 are the company to name some, which encourages online betting.

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Anurag Thakur, MS Dhoni
Credits: PTI
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Ex-BCCI Chief Anurag Thakur congratulates Padma Bhushan award recipients

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Former BCCI President Anurag Thakur, on Monday, congratulated MS Dhoni, billiards champion Pankaj Advani and other Padma Bhushan recipients.

Moreover, Dressed in an army uniform, Dhoni marched past the dignitaries present at the Rashtrapati Bhavan – to receive the honour from President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 37-year old Dhoni holds the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Colonel. He was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army by Army Chief General VK Singh on November 1, 2011.

Incidentally, Dhoni received award exactly seven years since lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup as India skipper in Mumbai on April 2, 2011, against Sri Lanka.

Anurag Thakur, MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni and his wife with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo Credit: Web.

But, Dhoni became the eleventh cricketer to receive the coveted honour. The He is the most decorated skipper in the history of Indian cricket. He led India to number one ranking in Tests, World T20I, World Cup and Champions Trophy titles.

With this award, Dhoni’s already impressive haul of trophies has become further impressive. He has won the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first player to win it twice), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2007 and the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour in 2009.

On the other hand, Advani has also enjoyed a distinguished career. He won gold twice at the Asian Games in 2006 and 2010, in addition to several other memorable wins.

Anurag Thakur, MS Dhoni,
Pankaj Advani with the Prime Minister

In contrast, Anurag Thakur was quick to congratulate the duo and others, taking to Twitter to convey his regards.

“Heartiest congratulations to the #PadmaAward recipients. These awards ‘celebrate the achievements of exemplary individuals who have been working selflessly and assiduously at the grassroots level’ and through their accomplishments/impact inspired millions,” he tweeted.

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Anurag Thakur takes a Dig at Lodha Reforms after Nagaland Women’s Poor Show

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After Nagaland horrific performance in women’s u-19 game, former Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) President Anurag Thakur raised that not all Lodha Reforms were appropriate.

Notably, Nagaland was bowled out for just two runs including a wide by Kerala in a BCCI’s u-19 Women’s One-Day Super League match, with as many as nine batswomen getting out for a duck.

Anurag Thakur takes a Dig at Lodha Reforms after Nagaland Women's Poor Show 3
The Supreme Court appointed Lodha Committee had recommended one state one vote for BCCI, which resulted in the most successful Ranji team Mumbai losing its voting right, while all the north-eastern states gained the voting power.

Anurag Thakur takes a Dig at Lodha Reforms after Nagaland Women's Poor Show 4

Anurag, who also lost his President post due to the reforms, took to Twitter to slam the Lodha Committee reforms in two tweets. In the first tweet, he provided the statistics of 136 wide ball which were bowled in a match between Nagaland and Manipur in Dhanbad earlier this year. In the second tweet he wrote, “Giving full voting rights to each state w/out structured development of cricketing standards will harm the game. Cricket in northeast needs nurturing not humiliation like this. #LodhaReforms @BCCI.”

Mumbai is now an associate member of BCCI. The Mumbai Cricket Association representatives can attend General Body meetings but are not eligible to vote.Baroda and Saurashtra – the two teams from its mother state Gujarat are also now associate members and will take turns to “rotate annually” to vote.

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Anurag Thakur Asks Officials To Open Envelope Containing Names Of 13 Spot-Fixing Accused

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Anurag Thakur, the former BCCI president, has urged the concerned authorities to reveal the name of all the 13 individuals who were allegedly involved in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal that had rocked the Indian Premier League.

An envelope containing the names of the individuals was handed over to the Supreme Court by the Mudgal committee in February 2014. Later, media reports had suggested that some big names like MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina were also allegedly involved in the scandal.

G Sampath Kumar (SP, Railways) had submitted a report to Justice Mukul Mudgal in which Dhoni and Raina’s names were mentioned.

Anurag Thakur Asks Officials To Open Envelope Containing Names Of 13 Spot-Fixing Accused 5

Anurag Thakur Asks Officials To Open Envelope Containing Names Of 13 Spot-Fixing Accused 6
Report containing Dhoni and Raina’s names (Credits: India Today)

However, so far nothing positive has been materialised in this case and Thakur believes the names should be made public to resolve the whole issue and restore the pride of the game which is bigger than every individual.

The BJP leader went on to insist that had the Indian cricket board been more pro-active in punishing guilty cricketers and administrators, it would not have found itself in the ‘mess’ it is now in.

“For me, individuals are not important. The institution is important. I am not bothered about any ‘A’ or ‘B’ player. I am only concerned about BCCI as an institution. The envelope containing the name of the cricketers was never opened by the Court, which means the issue from where the entire episode started wasn’t resolved. But other issues against the BCCI were opened,” Thakur told The Times of India. “If anyone is involved in match-fixing or unethical practice, there must be a harsher punishment because no name is bigger than the game.”

“Certain A, B or C players are roaming free after so many years. They are sitting in TV studios. The same TV channels and newspapers which wrote against them on fixing and betting, they have called them cricket experts. So, there has to be some law and harsher punishment for such individuals and activities,” he added.

Anurag Thakur Asks Officials To Open Envelope Containing Names Of 13 Spot-Fixing Accused 7
Ajit Chandila, Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan were banned for life in 2013 (Credits: BCCI)

Thakur further said he is all set to introduce his ‘National Sports Ethics Commission Bill’, in the Lok Sabha as a private member’s bill. The bill is aimed to curb the major problems that have marred sports like match-fixing, age fraud and sexual harassment.

“I am approaching Parliament with this bill. The bill aims to curb the menace of match-fixing, age fraud and sexual harassment in sports. It could be introduced in the winter or the budget session. The moment it is introduced, the debate will start. Betting, however, is not a part of it,” he said.

The bill includes harsher punishments for the offenders, likes a 10-year jail term for match-fixing in addition to hefty fines.

Thakur, who along with Ajay Shirke was removed from his BCCI post earlier this year, also took a dig on the deadlock between the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the current BCCI over implementing the Lodha reforms.

Anurag Thakur Asks Officials To Open Envelope Containing Names Of 13 Spot-Fixing Accused 8
Shirke (L) and Thakur were removed from their posts earlier this year

“If you look back at Oct 1, 2016, BCCI had accepted more than 90 per cent of reforms. For the rest, we went back to the SC. Has anything has changed since then? It’s been more than 13 months but we have made no headway. The only thing which has changed is that BCCI has lost its position globally. BCCI has lost crores in revenue,” he said.

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Anurag Thakur Proposes a Jail Term of 10 Years for Players Involved in Match-Fixing

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Former BCCI Chief and a Member of Parliament of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Anurag Thakur has proposed a jail term of at least ten years for anyone involved in match-fixing. He also suggested a fine of five times the amount levied for this case.

“Any person found guilty of match-fixing shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years and or with a fine which shall be five times the amount involved in the match-fixing,” the bill says.

Hirendra Singh Shekhawat, BCCI, Corruption, Marred, S Sreesanth, Cricket, Match Fixing, IPL, Rajasthan Royals.
Sreesanth played 60 professional T20 fixtures in which he bagged 50 wickets at an average of 32.78. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

The bill is expected to come in to effect in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament which also proposes to set up a regulatory body for all the sports federations with equivalent powers to that of the civil court to keep a measure on the frauds going on at a rapid pace at this current point in time.

“All sports federations would report to the proposed National Sports Ethics Commission in matters related to doping, match-fixing, fraud of age, sexual harassment of women and other unethical practices in sports,” Thakur said in the statement.

Anurag Thakur Proposes a Jail Term of 10 Years for Players Involved in Match-Fixing 9
Jagmohan Dalmiya with former BCCI president Anurag Thakur (Photo Source: Twitter)

As per the proposition of the bill, the commission must be constituted of six members including four retired judges of either the Supreme Court or the High Court. It further proposes all the decisions and appointments must be made only after consulting India’s Chief Justice.

There have been instances in the past when some of the players have been dragged into controversies due to the involvement of their teammates in match-fixing. The former BCCI Chief said it is a high time that match-fixing and other offences in sports must fall under criminal law. He further said the bill would ensure that there is no Indian law which brings match-fixing any specific criminal law. He said the bill would eventually help the players who have been wronged by others and will allow justice to prevail for them.

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Anurag Thakur.

Sehwag’s Comment Should Not be Taken Otherwise – Anurag Thakur

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The former BCCI President, Anurag Thakur has defended Virender Sehwag’s comment and has said his words regarding the appointment of Head Coach should not be taken otherwise.

“It should not be taken otherwise,” Thakur told media during a function in Ludhiana.

(Read Here: Hardik Pandya adjudged Man of the Match, India defeat Australia)

Sehwag, during a chat with India TV, had said he could not become the Head Coach of Indian cricket team due to lack of setting in BCCI. His comments sparked a controversy, as he further revealed that he was asked by BCCI officials to apply for the job. Also, Sehwag added he had a talk with Indian skipper Virat Kohli regarding the same.

Sehwag's Comment Should Not be Taken Otherwise - Anurag Thakur 10

Sehwag’s comments were enough to bring the matter back again in the limelight, as it has been three months since the chapter was closed. Sourav Ganguly, one of the members of Crick Advisory Committee (CAC) has though commented on the issue and said he would talk to Sehwag regarding the matter.

(Read Here: Hardik Pandya’s innings was the game changer: Virat Kohli)

Incidentally, Sehwag is to travel Kolkata for his next commentary assignment for the second ODI between India and Australia and the matter is expected to be sought out there.

Though it is a fact of the matter that Sehwag was the favourite candidate of Ganguly, but Shastri had the backing of Sachin Tendulkar and Indian skipper Virat Kohli – with whom he shares a good rapport. Now, when the matter has come out again, we might see much more coming out of it, as the process to appoint the Head Coach looked like a mere formality once Shastri applied for the job, as reports suggested that he was assured of the job even before applying for it.

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BCCI Secretary Expenses Touches up-to Rs 1.56 crore, Treasurer’s 1.71 crore

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The full expenditures of the BCCI office bearers were published by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in their 5th status report on Tuesday which revealed that the expenses of Secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary touch Rs. 1.56 crores and Rs. 1.71 crores, respectively.

It must be noted here that the former secretary Ajay Shirke who was ousted from his position by the Supreme Court didn’t receive a single penny from the BCCI, unlike the other office bearers.

The expenditures of the two principal office bearers Amitabh and Anirudh Chaudhary has hogged the limelight. The Committee of Administrators provided its entire break up in its status report and all the expenses under various heads which also includes airfare, TA/DA, accommodation and foreign exchange allowances.

According to the break-up provided in the status report, former IPS officer and the acting secretary received a whopping Rs 65 lakhs on air tickets, (exact figure Rs 65,04,124) and Rs. 42.25 lakhs from BCCI. He also received a total of Rs. 29 lakhs in foreign exchanges where he went as a representative of BCCI at international forums.

His expenses for the lodge (hotel or otherwise) have reached more than Rs. 13.50 lakhs while his office expenses cross Rs. 3.93 lakhs, He also received an additional sum of Rs. 1.31 lakhs. The total expenses for the two financial years amount to Rs. 1.56 crores but treasurer Anirudh who was known to supply news to ex BCCI President N Srinivasan has defeated the Secretary comfortably in terms of expenditure from the board’s coffers.

Anirudh’s air ticket bills during the mentioned period touch Rs. 60 lakhs and TA/DA is a whopping Rs. 75 lakhs. The BCCI paid Rs. 17.64 lakhs to Aniruddh in foreign exchange while staying charges were Rs. 11 lakhs differently. Aniruddh got Rs. 3.41 lakhs with Rs. 2.37 earmarked on cell phones. Aniruddh spent around Rs. 1.71 crores but a few former office bearers including EX President Anurag Thakur and acting president CK Khanna.

Anurag Thakur’s total expenditure prior to his removal was Rs. 24 lakhs while Khanna spent around Rs. 6.52 lakhs.

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Anurag Thakur felicitates Sushma Verma (Photo Source: twitter)

Every Indian Is Proud Of Indian Women’s Team, Says Anurag Thakur

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The Story

Indian women’s team has gained a whole new level of respect and admiration after their heroics in the ICC Women’s World Cup which concluded recently in England. The Mithali Raj-led side finished runners up to England after narrowly losing finals at Lord’s.

The loss came in a dramatic fashion and was totally a huge blow to the hopes of the ladies creating history by winning the prestigious trophy at the revered venue. However, while there was some hint of sadness among fans, the women’s team ended being the trendsetters eventually as they earned a huge amount of following and recognition.

The loss in the final was bitter but the Indian fans showered them with respect and love. Their hard work surely didn’t go in vain.

Former BCCI Prez Delighted

Former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Anurag Thakur has termed the efforts made by the ladies as “exemplary”. He met Indian wicket-keeper batsman Sushma Verma and felicitated her on Thursday in the national capital.

“Every Indian is feeling proud of the performance of the women’s cricket team. Their performance was exemplary. Even though they were unable to win the World Cup, they won the hearts of 1.25 crore Indians,” Thakur told ANI.

“Especially, for us, it was a great achievement as wicketkeeper Sushma Verma made the people of Himachal Pradesh proud, he added.

Thakur also wished the ladies all the luck to emulate such performances in the future.

The Indian team arrived in India on Wednesday and was given a rousing reception at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. The team members arrived in batches and the first batch touched down early at around 3.30 am. However, despite landing in such odd hours there was no absence of eager crowd waiting to receive them with enthusiasm.

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Ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur Reveals He Is Ready To Serve Indian Cricket If Required

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Sacked Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), President Anurag Thakur on Sunday, has stated he won’t show his back if country’s cricket would require his services in the foreseeable future, in fact, he would be happy to give his best. (Read Here: Need You Back In Indian Cricket: Sourav Ganguly To Anurag Thakur).

“I have not decided anything but if Indian cricket requires me, I will be always available. I have never shied away from responsibility,” Thakur was quoted as saying by PTI.

Interestingly, Thakur was removed from his post by the Supreme Court after failing to impress the other members of the board – to put forward respective effort, in a bid to implement the Lodha Panel recommendations in order to bring stability and reformations in the body itself.

The 42-year-old Thakur revealed he would be delighted to shoulder the responsibility if he would be asked to fill in the place, as he has been cleared off from the tumult from the past six-odd months.

The Member of Parliament for Hamirpur stated he is happy to see former Indian skipper and Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), member Sourav Ganguly saying positive words about him.

“It was kind of Sourav [Ganguly] to have said something like that. I feel humbled when a former India captain says something like that,” Thakur added.

After Thakur tendered an apology in the court, as he was facing the charges of the contempt of court soon after filing a wrong affidavit in the court which saw him leaving the BCCI office when perjury charges were filed against him.

However, the apex body on Friday (July 14), has withdrawn the case by dropping all the charges and further proceedings against Thakur following unconditional apology from the man, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons earlier this year.

Soon after the removal of the president in the form of Thakur, Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the Supreme Court to supervise the activities of the board, has failed to make any mark in nutshell by spending at least six months in the office now, as two of its members including historian Ramachandra Guha and Vijay Limaye has already tendered their resignations respectively.

Ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur Reveals He Is Ready To Serve Indian Cricket If Required 11
“I had complete faith in judiciary,” maintained Thakur. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Talking about his work, Thakur has been looking forward to putting more effort for the sports activities while being busy with his political dealings.

“During all these months, I was busy doing what I love most – promoting sports. I organised the Himachal Pradesh State Olympics, which was a huge success,” Thakur asserted.

The reports suggested, Cricket Association Bengal (CAB), Ganguly urged Thakur, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Information and Technology (I&T), to make a return to the cricket management after accepting a birthday wish from the former chief of the country’s national board.

“I am also involved with Hockey Himachal as promoting Olympic sports in the state has been one of my prime endeavours,” Thakur further said, who seemed to have affection for the sports for long.

Moreover, Thakur stayed away from any controversial remark on the ongoing developments regarding the coaching staff while stating he doesn’t want to indulge in the matters of the BCCI as reported by the wire agency.

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