‘May god give strength to his family’: Anil Kumble, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir express grief as Chetan Chauhan passes away
Chauhan, who was Sunil Gavaskar’s longest serving opening partner, was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi PGI in Lucknow on July 12 after being found COVID-19 positive.
Former India batsman Chetan Chauhan passed away on Sunday to complications related to Covid-19. He was admitted to a hospital in Gurugram on Friday night due to multiple organ failure and was immediately put on ventilator support. But he succumbed to the illness after almost 36 hours on Sunday as his brother Pushpendra Chauhan announced the news.
Chauhan played 40 Tests and 7 ODIs for India scoring 2084 runs and 153 respectively. He is remembered for his opening partnerships with Sunil Gavaskar in the 1970s and early 1980s.
After the news came in, former cricketers expressed their grief on his demise. the likes of Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble, Gautam Gambhir and many others paid their respects to Chauhan.
‘My deep condolences to Chetan Chauhan’s family and well wishers on his passing. Om Shanti !’ Sehwag commented on Twitter.
India captain Kohli said he was shocked to hear the passing away of Chetan Chauhan. “Shocked to hear about the passing of Shri. Chetan Chauhan ji. May his soul rest in peace and my thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Kohli tweeted.
Former India skipper Kumble also expressed his condolences to the family of Chauhan. ‘Saddened to hear the passing of Chetan Chauhan. Fondly remember our conversations on the 2007/8 tour of Australia. Heartfelt condolences to his family,’ he said on Twitter.
Gambhir remembered the contribution of Chauhan to cricket and also in the political sphere as he was also a UP Cabinet Minister. ‘Saddened to hear about the demise of Chetan Chauhan ji. His contribution to the game as well as to administration will always be remembered! May god give strength to his family & loved ones!’ said Gambhir.
India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and The International Cricket Council (ICC) also reacted to the news of Chauhan’s death.
Chauhan, who played 40 Tests for India, was 73 and is survived by his wife and son Vinayak, who is scheduled to arrive from Melbourne later in the day.
“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 told PTI.
Chauhan, who was Sunil Gavaskar’s longest serving opening partner, was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi PGI in Lucknow on July 12 after being found COVID-19 positive.
Due to kidney related ailments, his health deteriorated and he was shifted to Medanta hospital in Gurugram.
(with PTI inputs)
