Former BCCI chief Anurag Thakur's brother Arun Dhumal elected unopposed as HPCA chief

Dharamsala: Arun Dhumal, younger brother of former BCCI president and current MoS (finance) Anurag Thakur was elected president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) unopposed, during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Friday. Una district’s Sumit Sharma is the new secretary of HPCA as there was no opposition against the Dhumal-led panel. [caption id=“attachment_3183366” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Anurag Thakur. AFP[/caption] The AGM happened on expected lines and former Himachal CM Prem Kumar Dhumal’s younger son could be a strong contender for a plum post in the BCCI — either as an office bearer or as a member of the all-important Apex Council during BCCI AGM on 23 October. However for that, he will have to relinquish his state body’s position. Dhumal thanked his elder brother Anurag for his contribution to building a world-class stadium in the state. “We should be proud of the work done by Anurag Thakur for development of state’s cricket. The name of Dharamshala is now known throughout the world because of the lovely cricket stadium built under the guidance of Anurag ji,” Dhumal said. Dhumal said that his primary aim would be to ensure that Thakur’s dream of setting up 70 cricket coaching centres across the state is realised. “Anurag ji’s dream was to have 70 centres across the state. We have already got clearance for 62 of them and 22 are already operational. Around 1,200 kids are getting coaching,” he said.