Anurag Singh Thakur (born 24 October 1974) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a cricket administrator. He has represented Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh in the Lok Sabha since 2008. He was president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2016–17 and served in the Union government from 2019 to 2024, first as Minister of State for Finance and then as Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting and for Youth Affairs and Sports.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Anurag Singh Thakur |
| Born | 24 October 1974, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Age | 51 |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Constituency | Hamirpur (Lok Sabha, since 2008) |
| Offices held | Minister of Information and Broadcasting; Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (2021–2024); President, BCCI (2016–2017) |
| Education | Dayanand Model School, Jalandhar; Doaba College, Jalandhar (B.A.) |
| Spouse | Shefali Thakur (m. 2002) |
| Children | 2 sons |
Early Life
Thakur is the elder son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was twice Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, and Sheela Devi. He grew up partly in Jalandhar in Punjab, where his father taught at a college, and studied at Dayanand Model School and Doaba College. He played cricket for Punjab’s junior teams.
Career
He became president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association in 2000, at twenty-five. That November he captained the state in a single Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, his only first-class appearance. Under him the association built the stadium at Dharamsala, set against the Dhauladhar mountains, which has hosted international cricket since 2013 and is regarded as one of the most beautiful grounds in the world.
He rose through the BCCI as joint secretary and, from 2015, secretary, and in May 2016 was elected its president, the second youngest in its history. His term was dominated by a dispute over the governance reforms recommended by the Lodha Committee, and in January 2017 the Supreme Court removed him from the post for failing to carry them out.
He entered the Lok Sabha in a by-election from Hamirpur in May 2008 and has been re-elected in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. From 2010 to 2016 he was national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the party’s youth wing, and in 2011 led its yatra from Kolkata towards Srinagar to hoist the national flag there. In July 2016 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Territorial Army, the first serving BJP member of Parliament to join it, and he was later promoted to captain.
In May 2019 he was appointed Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under Nirmala Sitharaman. In the reshuffle of July 2021 he was raised to Cabinet rank with two portfolios. As sports minister he oversaw India’s preparation for the Tokyo, Hangzhou and Paris games and the expansion of the Khelo India programme; the protest by leading wrestlers in 2023 against the head of the wrestling federation was the most difficult episode of his tenure. As information and broadcasting minister he dealt with rules for streaming platforms and online news. He was not included in the council of ministers formed in June 2024 and has since chaired a parliamentary standing committee.
Personal Life
He married Shefali, daughter of the former Himachal Pradesh minister Gulab Singh Thakur, in November 2002, and they have two sons. His younger brother, Arun Dhumal, has been treasurer of the BCCI and chairman of the Indian Premier League.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Anurag Thakur born?
Anurag Thakur was born on 24 October 1974 in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India and is 51 years old.
Featured image: Anurag Thakur at a press conference on Cabinet decisions, New Delhi, July 2021. Photo by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
