Anurag Thakur nowhere to be seen ahead of Dharamsala Test

Former BCCI President and the man who shaped up Dharamsala as an international venue, Anurag Thakur, seems to be in a hibernation mode ahead of the final Test between India and Australia. The venue at Dharamsala is all set to become the 27th Test venue in India when it will host the final Test of the ongoing series starting on March 25.

The buzz and the build up for the match has been ever increasing despite the off the field sourness between the two competing camps. Anurag Thakur, the head of the state cricket association in Himachal Pradesh, has opted to stay mum over the preparations for the Test.

Thakur was ousted from his position of the BCCI President early this year after the Supreme Court verdict based on the Lodha panel. Since then, the dynamic politician and administrator has kept himself away from the limelight. However, with HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala set to make its Test debut, it was expected that Anurag would be promoting the event.

As per the quotes in News18, some of the sources in the HPCA have noted the same. They called the situation to be awkward. They also noted that there was a time when Anurag Thakur took close interest in every small detail of an international fixture being played at the venue. This time, the situation remained opposite.

“The situation is a bit awkward, earlier he (Thakur) would be actively involved ahead of every international match, looking closely at every detail, but this time around there has been no involvement at all,” the source quoted.

In essence, the picturesque venue at Dharamsala was the brainchild of the former BCCI President. He brought the ground to the limelight by hosting IPL matches in the year 2010 at the venue. Soon by 2013, the venue saw an ODI fixture being played there which marked the international debut of Dharamsala. A couple of years later in 2015, the first ever T20I was played there between India and South Africa. Now, the venue is ready for the Test debut.

“Anurag Thakur is the man because of whom the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala is regarded as one of the best in the country. We have heard that he might come to watch the match once it gets underway on Saturday, but there is no confirmation yet, everything is very eerily quiet,” the source quoted further.

Barring a retweet of a promotion made by the HPCA, Thakur has opted to be quiet this time around which is grabbing a lot of eyeballs.