The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted pictures on Twitter of its members congratulating the 41-year-old Thakur after electing him to the presidency at a meeting in Mumbai.
“Congratulations Mr. President,” the BCCI said in a tweet, posting a picture of Thakur shaking hands with members at the meeting. A BCCI spokesman also confirmed the appointment.
Thakur, who is a member of parliament for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, succeeds Shashank Manohar.
Manohar stepped down earlier this month to become the first independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Thakur, who was secretary of the cash-rich BCCI, was the sole nomination on Sunday for the top post, seen by many as the most powerful in global cricket.
The board benefits from huge TV deals that allow it effectively to run the world governing body — the ICC — along with its allies, Australia and England.
However under reforms that Manohar had himself supported, it is no longer possible to be both ICC chairman and to head the national board of a member country.
Manohar had been serving as head of the ICC in his role as president of the BCCI in line with the organisation’s previous system of rotating chairmanships.
But under the reforms, the ICC has amended its constitution to bring in direct elections for the position. It will now be officially an independent post, a move designed to ensure the incumbent no longer feels obliged to promote his own country’s interests.
Thakur will have his hands full as the BCCI is under enormous pressure to introduce reforms after being tarnished by scandals including accusations of corruption and match-fixing in the glitzy Indian Premier League.