Former Indian cricketer and UP minister, Chetan Chauhan passed away on Sunday due to kidney failure after he tested positive for coronavirus. He was 73 when he breathed his last at Medanta hospital in Gurugram, where he had been shifted after his condition deteriorated.
The two-time former Lok Sabha MP was the Home Guard Minister in Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government. He is the second minister to have succumbed to coronavirus this month. On August 2, UP minister Kamal Rani Varun had also died due to the infectious disease.
"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 reached anytime and we will then perform last rites," brother Pushpendra told PTI.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief at the demise of the minister who was also a well-known cricketer.
PM Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to express his thoughts.
Modi's tweet read, "Shri Chetan Chauhan Ji distinguished himself as a wonderful cricketer and later as a diligent political leader. He made effective contributions to public service and strengthening the BJP in UP. Anguished by his passing away. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti."
Several ministers, including Siddhartha Nath Singh, Mohsin Raza, and Rajendra Pratap Singh, have expressed their condolences to the bereaved family. Modi also tweeted in regards to the death of the veteran, "Shri Chetan Chauhan Ji distinguished himself as a wonderful cricketer and later as a diligent political leader. He made effective contributions to public services and strengthening the BJP in UP. Anguished by his passing away".
Chauhan was born in Uttar Pradesh and elected to the state assembly from Naugawan in Amroha district.
A well-known cricketer before he joined politics, he made his Test debut against New Zealand in the year 1969 as a 22-year-old man and secured his first runs off a couple of boundaries. Later, he played40 Tests between 1969 and 1978 and scored 2,084 runs at an average of 31.57 with 97 being his highest score. He also played in seven ODIs, scoring 153 runs from them. With passing time, he acquired the reputation as a doughty batsman.
He and Sunil Gavaskar formed a successful opening partnership, scoring over 3,000 runs together with 10 century stands in numerous Tests in the 1970s. He made half-centuries on at least 16 occasions. After his playing career, he turned into coaching and was manager when India won a famous Test victory against Australia in Kolkata in 2001.
Chauhan played Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra and Delhi and was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1981.
