Chetan Chauhan sang ‘muskura ladle, muskura’ going to face most hostile bowlers: Gavaskar in tribute
The legendary batsman hails his former Test opening partner, who died on Sunday following hospitalisation due to Covid-19
Theirs was a cricketing bond made over delivery after delivery of hostile pace, often faced without the protection of the helmet. One was a gritty accumulator and the other a technically perfect batting virtuoso who ended his career as the first man to cross the 10,000-run mark in Tests among records.
On Sunday, Sunil Gavaskar paid a moving tribute to his former opening partner, Chetan Chauhan, who passed away in a Gurugram hospital due to complications that followed his testing positive for Covid-19 last month.
Gavaskar shared 11 Test century partnerships, all but one for the opening wicket, with Chauhan, during the 1970s. Chauhan, who played 40 Tests, could not score a century, 97 being his highest score.
Also Read | Former India cricketer Chetan Chauhan passes away due to Covid-19
In his statement, Gavaskar recalled their association.
“‘Aaja, aaja, gale mil, after all we are in the mandatory overs of life’ was the usual greeting of my opening partner Chetan Chauhan whenever we met over the last two or three years. The meetings were invariably at his beloved Ferozeshah Kotla ground where he was in charge of the pitch preparation. As we hugged I would say to him ‘no, no we must have another century partnership’ and he would laugh and say ‘arre baba you are the century maker, not me’.
“Never in my wildest nightmares could I believe his words about being in the mandatory overs of life would come true so soon. It’s so hard to believe that his laughter and cheerful banter won’t be there the next time I go to Delhi.
“Talking of centuries, I firmly believe I was responsible for him missing out on two occasions, both in Australia in the 1980/81 series Down under. In the second Test in Adelaide he was on 97 when my teammates pulled me out of my chair in front of the TV and dragged me to the players’ balcony saying I must get there to cheer my partner.
“I was a bit superstitious about watching from the players’ enclosure as then the batsman would get out and so would always watch on the dressing room TV. Once the landmark was reached, then I would rush to the balcony and join in the cheers. However, here I was in the Adelaide balcony when Dennis Lillee came in to bowl and would you believe Chetan was caught behind first ball.
Also Read | BCCI expresses grief on Chetan Chauhan’s death
“I was livid and told the players off for having got me to the balcony but that wasn’t going to change what had happened. A few years later, I didn’t make the same mistake when Mohammad Azharuddin was approaching his third consecutive hundred in Kanpur. As soon as he got to the coveted mark, I was out of the change room applauding him from next to the sightscreen. However, some of my friends in the media who had the knives out for me then made a big story of my so called absence. Amazingly, they had had nothing to say about the absence of some when a year earlier I got my 29th century to be level with Sir Don Bradman in Delhi.
“The second occasion that I believe I was responsible for Chetan missing a hundred was when I lost my head after being abused by the Australians as I was leaving the pitch after a terrible decision (at MCG). Trying to drag Chetan off the field with me must have disrupted his concentration and he was again out short of a century a little later.”
Gavaskar also hailed Chauhan for his generosity.
“There’s one thing few players of my generation and the one immediately after that don’t know is his contribution in getting tax exemptions for them. Both of us first met the late R Venkataraman, who was Finance minister of the country then, and requested him to consider a tax exemption for fees received for playing for India. (I) must add that it wasn’t just for cricket but for all sportspersons who played for India. We explained how when we were junior cricketers we had to spend a lot of money on equipment, travel, coaches, etc., when we had no income at all.
“Venkatramanji was most considerate and in a notification he passed a ruling that gave us 75% standard deduction for a Test match fee, then an exemption on 50% of the tour fees which we received before leaving for a tour. The cherry on the cake though was the total exemption on the One-day match fees of Rs.750 which we received those days. Mind you we barely played a game or two of one-day international then. That notification was in place till about 1998 by which time the number of one-day internationals had increased dramatically as also as the fees which were around 1 lakh or so.
“Chetan always said if we were asked what our best contribution to Indian cricket was we should say it was getting the tax exemptions. His desire to help others manifested in him joining politics and right till the end he was a giver, not a taker.
“He had a wicked sense of humour too. His favourite song as we walked out to face some of the most hostile bowlers in the game was ‘muskura ladle muskura’. That was his way of easing the nerves while confronting challenges.
Now that my partner is no more how can I ‘muskura’?
May your soul have everlasting peace, partner.”
