Eulogy for Chetan Chauhaan who Fell Victim to Covid.

 Eulogy for Chetan Chauhaan

Cricketer turned cricket administrator and politician - Chetan Chauhan, who besides being elected twice to the Loksabha from UP in 1991 and 98, as a BJP candidate, was also the incumbent Cabinet Minister in the Yogi Government in Uttar Pradesh, most tragically left for his heavenly abode this evening - 16th August, 2020. Chauhan was 73 years and it is rather a divine coincidence that Chauhan died on the same day when his mentor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee has died two years earlier. Chauhaan had joined the BJP enamoured by his political inspiration from Vajpayee. He succumbed to the Covid pandemic, which he had contracted on 11th July. The very next day - on 12th July - Chauhan announced the news of his Covid contraction in his tweet where he also said; ‘ Your prayers will definitely work. I will get back to you healthily soon, all of you take care of your self, thanks a lot’, but then as destiny would have it, no prayers of his well wishers could help him combat Covid 19. 

Chauhan, aged 73 years, had tested Covid positive on the same day when Big B, Amitabh Bachchan had tested positive and therefore news of his testing positive was dimmed by Amitabh Bachchan who had hogged all news headlines. The news of his death has also not been covered in the media as prominently as the news of the retirement of MS Dhoni, who announced his retirement yesterday. After contracting Covid on the 11th of July in Lucknow,  Chauhan was admitted at the Sanjay Gandhi PGI Hospital in Lucknow. Most unfortunately his condition did not improve and subsequently when he developed other complications Chauhan was shifted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. He developed further complications when the infection affected his kidneys and blood pressure, leading to multiple organ failure. He was put on life support couple of days but most unfortunately, he could not fight the infection and was declared dead this evening - 16 August at 4.45 PM, by the hospital authorities.

Chetan Chauhan, though not a highly acclaimed international cricket player, will ever be remembered as the test opener who successfully partnered  his illustrious partner the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan scored some 3000+ Test runs as Test opening pair including 10 century opening partnerships and averaged an impressive 53.75 runs for the opening wicket. They remained the highest opening pair for quite a long time until being overtaken by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. In a decade-long Test career, Chauhan played 40 Tests and seven ODIs and scored 2,084 Test runs with 16 half-centuries but missed out on a century with a best of 97. Chauhan also holds the dubious distinction of being the first player in Test history to score 2000+ runs without a century. His last first-class game was the Ranji final against Bombay in 1985. Batting with a fractured finger, he made 98 and 54 in that match. Chauhan made his test debut against the visiting New Zealand team in Mumbai in September 1969. 

India won the Test match by 60 runs and Chauhan scored 18 in first innings and 34 in second innings in a low scoring match, where Prasanna and Bedi excelled taking eight wickets each in the Test match. Chauhan was in and out of the test team during the next couple of seasons until becoming a regular from 1977 onwards when he established a fine partnership with Sunil Gavaskar. 

Chauhan had a distinguished career in local games and he represented two states Delhi and Maharashtra. He scored a lot of runs while representing Delhi from 1967 to 1975 and Maharashtra from 1975 to 1985 in domestic cricket. In 179 First-class matches, he has scored 11143 runs at an impressive average of 40.22, which included 21 centuries and 59 half-centuries. In 1976–77, playing with a fractured jaw, he scored 158 against Haryana. Later that season, he scored 200 against Punjab and 147 versus Karnataka. Another hundred in Duleep Trophy early next season earned him a place in the Indian team going to Australia and then began Chauhan's most impressive period with the bat, as an opening partner to Sunil Gavaskar. 

In his first match of the Australian tour Chauhan made 157 against Victoria. He was selected in the playing eleven for the second Test and made 88 runs in his very first innings at Perth. From there on, he became Gavaskar's regular opening partner and only missed one Test match till the end of his career. Chauhan and Gavaskar's best opening partnership came against England in 1979. Chasing a mammoth target of 438 in the fourth innings of a Test match at the Oval, they added 213 for the opening wicket. The match though ended in a draw as India missed the target by nine runs. 

Chauhan was preview to  two controversial Test matches in Australia both of which were marred by controversy including bad one sided umpiring decisions in which India was at the receiving end on both the occasions. The first instance happened during the 3rd test of the India Tour of Australia in 1981. The test was marred by some bad decisions, which went against India. Sunil Gavaskar was not at his best in the entire series and had mostly failed in the earlier two tests. Coming into the 3rd test match, which began in Melbourne on 7th February, Indian first innings began on a bad note with Chauhan scoring a duck and barring Gundappa Vishwanath who scored a gritty 114, the Indian team folded up for a paltry 237 runs. Australia helped by some bad umpiring decisions, went on to score 419 Runs in their first innings. The second Indian innings began on a good note and for the first time in the series, Gavaskar was in his elements and was playing very well. Chauhan and Gavaskar had added 165 runs for the first wicket, when tragedy struck. Gavaskar was given out lbw, even after indicating to the umpire that he had nicked the ball onto his pads. He was livid yet started hesitantly moving back to the pavilion, when Dennis Lille mocked him. This infuriated Gavaskar, who after walking some 30 metres could not control his anger and returned back to grab his batting partner, Chetan Chauhan and ordered him march in the direction of the players' gate. Chauhan who was playing well and was hoping for his maiden century, which he had missed by just three runs earlier, grudgingly followed a few metres behind Gavaskar, like a crestfallen player not ready to go back to the pavilion. Fortunately India's team manager, Wing Commander Shahid Durrani, met them at the fence and pleaded for calm. Gavaskar, regained his composure and allowed Chauhan to return to the centre wicket with new batsman Dilip Vengsarkar for company. With the wicket of Gavaskar, Lille had equalled Richie Benaud’s Australian records for highest wickets 248. Chauhan could not hold on for long and soon drove Lille straight to Bruce Yardley at cover point thus allowing Lille to break the record of Richie Benaud to become Australia's greatest-ever wicket-taker. Soon thereafter the Indian team do,Dee up leaving Australia to score 142 for a win. It was Kapil’s day and he bowled a miracle spell in the fourth innings and Australia needing just 142 runs to win folded up for a paltry 83 runs handing India a great victory in which Chauhan had played an important role in his second innings.

Chauhan was also witness to another controversial Test match against Australia, which also had some embarrassing moments. This time however, Chauhan was not playing the match but was involved as the manager of the Indian cricket team, which was touring Australia in 2008. It was the second Test that was played at the SCH Sydney in January 2008. This match came to be known for the Bhajji - Symonds verbal duel, infamously called the Monkey gate scandal. In this match too India was at the receiving end of some atrocious umpiring decisions, each of which went in favour of Australia and Bhajji was not spared and handed a three test ban by Mike Procter. All this ugly incident was played out in front of Chauhan who was the manager of the team. India lost the Test. The ban on Harbhajan Singh, for alleged racist remarks to Andrew Symonds in the Sydney Test almost led to an India boycott of the series. Fortunately the tour continued after India’s appeal was upheld by the ICC adjudicator, who turned the ban to heavy fine for use of abusive language. India went on to win the Perth Test.

Born in UP’s Bareilly, UP, on 21st July 1947, Chauhan grew up in Pune where his father, who was in the army, was posted. Thus he took early steps in Pune cricket and went on to play for Maharashtra before moving to Delhi. 

.Chauhan has also 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 their tour of Australia. Chauhan was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, in 1991 and 1998 but also contested unsuccessfully in 1996, 1999 and 2004. In 2017 he was elected to Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha from Naugawan Sadat Assemby  Constituency and was made a minister in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government. He was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1981. Though not a flamboyant player, Chauhan has left behind a legacy both as a player and administrator before succumbing to the Covid 19 on the very day 16th August, when his political mentor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee died. He died in Gurugram, Haryana, at the  age of 73 Years. He is survived by wife Sangeeta and son Vinayak. Rest in Peace Chetan Chauhan.