Ex-cricketer Chetan Chauhan dies of Corona

New Delhi: Former India opener Chetan Chauhan died on Sunday due to Covid-19 related complications after being put on life support for nearly 36 hours, his brother Pushpendra Chauhan said.

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 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.

On Friday night, he had a multi-organ failure and was put on ventilator support.

Chauhan was born in Uttar Pradesh and elected to the state assembly from Naugawan in Amroha district.

A well-known cricketer before he joined politics, he played 40 Tests between 1969 and 1978 and scored 2,084 runs at an average of 31.57 with 97 being his highest score. He also played in seven ODIs, scoring 153 runs from them.

He and Sunil Gavaskar formed a successful opening partnership, scoring over 3,000 runs together with 10 century stands in numerous Tests in the 1970s.

Chauhan played Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra and Delhi and was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1981.