After being removed from the post of BCCI President by the Supreme Court, Anurag Thakur on Monday maintained that it was not his personal battle with the court and his commitment to cricket will remain the same.
The apex court on Monday removed both Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke for their failure to implement the Justice R.M. Lodha committee recommendations on bringing about structural changes in the running of the cricket board.
In a video message posted on Twitter, Thakur stressed that the BCCI is the best managed sports organisation in India and his battle was for the autonomy of the sport.
"I had the honour of serving Indian cricket. Over the years, Indian cricket saw its very best in terms of administration and development of the game," he said.
"BCCI is the best managed sports organisation in the country with defined procedures. India has the best cricket infrastructure built and maintained by the state associations with the help of BCCI."
"India has more quality players than anywhere in the world. For me, it was not a personal battle. It was a battle for the autonomy of the sports body. I respect Supreme Court as any citizen should," he added.
He further said: "Supreme Court judges feel that BCCI could do better under retired judges, I wish them all the best. I am sure Indian cricket will do well under their guidance."
Reiterating his commitment for the sport, Thakur said: "My commitment to the best of Indian cricket and autonomy of sports will always remain."
A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud in their order said that as an interim arrangement, the senior-most Vice President of the BCCI would act as the President and the Joint Secretary would be the Secretary.
The court asked amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium and eminent lawyer Fali Nariman to suggest the names that would be in the committee to be headed by an administrator to oversee the Board's functioning.
The judges said they would pass a separate order on January 19 for appointing the administrator.