Former Indian cricketer and Uttar Pradesh government minister Chetan Chauhan died on Sunday from complications from Covid-19. Chauhan is the second minister of Uttar Pradesh after Kamal Rani Varun, who held the technical education portfolio, who succumbed to Covid-19.  

• A flamboyant cricketer and Sunil Gavaskar’s oldest opening partner in the 1970s, Chauhan represented India in 40 attempts and served the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in various capacities; President, Vice President President , secretary and head of selection.
• His career statistics (40 rounds with 2,084 points and a high score of 97 against Australia in Adelaide with an average average of 31.57) were quite disappointing for a first game.
• The most irritating aspect was the lack of a triple digit score. Chauhan ranks alongside Shane Warne on the list of most points scored without a century.
• He also played seven ODIs. Chauhan was the first player in testing history to score more than 2,000 points without a penny.
• He was a career top scorer in national cricket. In international cricket he had earned a reputation as an intrepid fighter.
• One of the most memorable moments of his cricket career was the 213-runs post he wrote with Gavaskar in The Oval in 1979, breaking the era record for Vijay’s most open window association, Merchant and Mushtaq Ali, who put up 203 runs at Old Trafford in 1936. Chauhan contributed 80 runs.
• After leaving the game in the mid-1980s, he turned to politics and was twice elected Member of Parliament by Almorah in Uttar Pradesh on a BJP ticket.
• Before his stint in politics, he was named head coach of the Indian team, in their historic 2-1 win over Australia at home in 2001 and then on their bitter 2007-08 tour of Down Under.
• Chauhan was in the eye of a storm after being appointed president of the National Institute of Fashion Technology in June 2016, and political parties and fashion designers questioned the government’s decision.
• However, he only held the position for a year and was replaced after being appointed Minister of Sports in the government of Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh.

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