Former Indian cricketer and Uttar Pradesh (UP) Cabinet Minister of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, Prantiya Rakshak Dal and Civil Security Chetan Chauhan(Full Name- Chetan Pratap Singh Chauhan) passed away at 73 in Medanta hospital, Gurugram, Haryana due to COVID-19. He belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). He was honoured with the Arjuna award in 1981. He was born on July 21, 1947 in Bareilly, UP.
- He is the 2nd UP cabinet minister to die of COVID-19 related illness after Kamla Rani Varun(held the Technical Education portfolio) who died in August 2020.
Gist about Chetan Chauhan
As a Cricketer
i.He made his 1st class debut in his 22 years against Mumbai and so, was known as a brave batsman of his generation. He also played Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra and Delhi.
ii.He made his test debut against New Zealand in 1969 and One Day International(ODI) debut against Ayub National Stadium,Quetta in 1978.
iii.He was an opening batsman who represented India in 40 Tests( secured 2084 runs) between 1969 and 1978 and 7 ODIs(secured 153 runs). He was a right arm off spinner.
iv.Along with Sunil Gavaskar, he formed one of India’s best opening partnerships in Test cricket, where they averaged 53.75 runs for the opening wicket, the highest for an opening pair (minimum 1200 runs) in Indian cricket history.
v.He was also the first Test player to finish his career with over 2000 runs but without a century.
As a Politician
After retiring from Cricket, he contested and got elected twice(1991 &1998) as Lok Sabha Member of Parliament(MP) from Almorah in UP under a BJP ticket. In 2017 he won the assembly elections. He also served as the Sports Minister of the State.
Other Key Positions held
i.Before entering into politics he served in the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in various designations including president .
ii.He served as the manager of the Indian Team during its tour of Australia in 2001.
iii.He was appointed as the chairman of the National Institute of Fashion Technology in June 2016.
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About UP:
National Park– Dudhwa National Park
UNESCO Heritage Sites– Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri
Airports– Kushinagar international airport, Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport.
