Anurag Thakur wants India to be world's best side across all three formats

Anurag Thakur, the recently appointed Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, has set his eyes on making the Indian cricket team the number one side in the world across all three formats of the game. The BCCI will lay special focus on enhancing the gaming experience for the upcoming cricketers and the general public alike by providing better infrastructure at the cricket facilities all over India.

Thakur, who assumed office as the new president of the world’s richest cricket board replacing Shashank Manohar, who had to vacate his post due to his commitments with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as its Chairman, is also keen on engaging with the cricket loving public so as to rectify the dubious image the BCCI has in the eyes of Indian fans at large.

“Ours is one of the best-administered boards – in the last year, we have appointed a CEO and CFO to bring transparency. We have also appointed GMs in each state association,” Thakur told the Times of India in an exclusive interview. “My focus is to make state units more social media savvy so that fans get to hear about the good work we are doing – rather than mere negative coverage.”

Shrugging away claims that his recent visit to the north-eastern states of India was politically motivated, the 41-year-old BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh claimed that he is only interested in providing better infrastructure to areas which are devoid of a popular cricket culture.

“I went to the northeast as i want that region to have state of the art infrastructure. I am dedicating myself to developing a 24-hour indoor cricketing facility in Shillong and Dimapur – within one year,” he said. "BCCI will also ensure that some other cities in the region get world-class coaching facilities.”

Thakur ultimately wants to see India consistently at the top of the world rankings in Tests, ODIs and T20s and believes the same can be achieved only by providing the best possible infrastructure for the domestic cricketers to train with and thus develop their game. He also claimed that the BCCI will be enhancing the cricket experience for fans, who ultimately drives the sport forward with their religion-like following.

“My aim is to make India the number one-ranked Test, ODI and T20 team in the world. That can only be achieved by having one of the best domestic cricket structures. We need to build more centres of excellence for cricketers to get the best possible training,” Thakur said.

“Another most important aspect is to work on fan experience. Simple things like ensuring that all the seats in every stadium are numbered might seem a small step – but it means a lot to the fan who buys a ticket about where his or her rightful place in the stadium is.”