Former Indian cricketer and test-opener Chetan Chauhan passed away after a protracted battle with Covid-19 on Sunday. He will always be remembered as Sunil Gavaskar's gutsy, gritty and determined partner on the field.
Until taking over as opener after Farokh Engineer bid adieu to test cricket, Chauhan had had three unsuccessful forays and brief stints in test cricket. First, in 1969 against New Zealand and against Australia, then in 1972-73 against England, followed by an unofficial test with Sri Lanka in 1975. It was after being picked again to tour Australia in 1977-78 that he scored a brilliant 88 in the second test at Perth and from then on, there was no looking back. He only missed one test after that, till 1981.
In his test career, Chauhan scored 16 fifties (seven of which were 80-plus knocks) but no hundreds. A notable aspect is that many of his high-scoring knocks came on India's away tours and against topnotch bowling attacks. Some of his stand-out test innings include a career-best 97 at Adelaide in the second test in 1980-81. And who could forget the third Melbourne test when Sunil Gavaskar almost successfully staged a walkout after being adjudged lbw to Dennis Lillee. Chauhan was at the other end. He scored a brilliant 85 in that match, which enabled India to bounce back and win to level the series. Equally noteworthy was his innings of 80 at The Oval when India was chasing 438 to win and just fell short by nine runs. One also remembers his 93 and the opening stand of 192 with Gavaskar at Lahore, Pakistan, in 1978 in tough playing conditions.
Chauhan was Gavaskar's longest-serving opening partner. The two put on 3,010 runs in 59 opening stands, with ten century partnerships. In domestic cricket, he began by representing Maharashtra before moving to Delhi in 1975. In 1976-77, he had batted with a fractured jaw and scored 158 against Haryana and in the Ranji final against Mumbai in 1985, his last first class match, he batted with a fractured finger to score 98 and 54. A testimony to his never-say-die attitude. After quitting the game, Chauhan 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 during its tour of Australia in 2001. He was a Lok Sabha MP twice.
Chauhan held the portfolios of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, PRD and Civil Security in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet. Till last year, he served as the sports minister of the state.
The writer is a former R&D scientist, music, sports & travel enthusiast
