Former India opener-turned-politician Chetan Chauhan has passed away on Sunday due to renal failure, aged 73. The former cricketer was a minister in Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet in Uttar Pradesh. He was suffering from kidney ailment and had tested positive for coronavirus in July. His health worsened after he contracted the virus.
He recently suffered from kidney failure and was put on the ventilator at the Medanta hospital in Gurugram. He was originally admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi PGI hospital in Lucknow when he tested positive for the virus last month but was later shifted to the Medanta.
Even before he could recover from coronavirus, he developed kidney and blood pressure problems on Friday. As a result, doctors took the call to put him on life support. However, Chetan Chauhan breathed his last on Sunday evening.
“My elder brother Shri Chetan Chauhan has left us today after fighting a good battle. I sincerely thank everyone who had prayed for his recovery. His son Vinayak will be reaching anytime and we will then perform last rites,” Pushpendra Chauhan, brother of the former India opener, told PTI.
After making his debut for Team India in 1969, Chetan Chauhan went on to play in 40 Tests and 7 ODIS. In Tests, he scored 2,084 runs at an average of 31 while in the ODIs he could only manage to score 157 runs. He was Sunil Gavaskar’s longest serving opening partner. He and Gavaskar formed one of India’s most successful opening partnerships in Tests as the due scored over 3,000 runs together.
After his playing career was over, Chetan Chauhan entered administration and then politics. He served the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in various capacities – president, vice-president, secretary and chief selector – apart from being manager of the Indian Team.