Chetan Chauhan

The bumper struck him on the jaw. Hospitalized, the army man’s son pleaded with the doctor to allow him to go back to the ground. Then he pleaded with his North Zone captain Bedi to allow him to resume his innings!

Jaw wired and mouth capable of sipping only, the brave warrior of Pune, now with Delhi, came out to face the wrath of his erstwhile colleagues of West Zone. Through sheer tenacity he completed his century and booked his ticket for Australia and New Zealand later in 1978-79. This was the start of his 2^nd essay as an India opener.

Chetan had a poor start to his Test career. He was one of the many tried by Vijay Merchant’s selection committee in 1969 at home. Apart from Vishwanath, all fell by the road-side, including Chetan. Then it was the usual grind of domestic first-class cricket. Chetan, unlike most, did not look around for excuses nor gave long discourses on motivation. He concentrated on his batting and reeled off prolific figures. The courageous century against North Zone forced the selectorial nod.

His second service to the country was exemplary as he consistently gave solid support to Gavaskar, Viswanath, Amarnath and Vengsarkar. But his exit after a successful tour of Australia in 1981 raised eyebrows. Why was he omitted is anybody’s guess, unless it was because he was considered too old at 34. Unfortunately his replacements were nowhere in comparison: neither in ability, nor in guts.

If Chetan Chauhan was a dour batman at the crease with a grim mien, off the field I would remember him as a man with a peculiar sense of light-hearted humour. He was excellent company as he knew how to converse. He had wit, he had depth and he had a wide orbit of subjects to fall back on. I remember him telling us once, “Well, Sunil is my junior partner, you know.”

Once he told me, “Raju bhai, I caught you once. Don’t do anything awkward, I will catch you again!”The reference was to the fact he had caught me in the Bengal-Maharashtra Ranji match way back in 1973.

He had this strange way of relating issues. Always laughingly maintained, “My job is to get a century partnership and not to score a century myself!” A clear reference that he never got a Test century himself although with Sunil Gavaskar he had numerous century partnerships.

Chetan had very few positive strokes. His method was generally defensive. But he would be very categorical with critics, “Let me play my way. You play your way.” It was like the philosopher-cricketer CB Fry saying that one needs just one stroke which one can play all round the wicket.

His first scoring stroke in Test cricket was a six off Caiirns. When asked how was it that he who would treat every ball as a striking viper, hit the ball for a six to begin his Test career.  Chetan is believed to have said, “I did not hit the ball. The ball hit my bat and went over the boundary! In fact when I tried to hook a ball for a six, I got caught at the long leg fence.”

Began his career as a batsman for Maharashtra and did consistently well. But at the international stage he was a failure in the early days. Later shifted to Delhi and from the 1979 tour of Australia under Bishen Bedi he found his métier. Was a splendid partner to SMG in many a battle.

After retirement he was a very prominent face in cricket circles as national selector, as cricket manager and generally as a very helpful administrator. On the ‘Harbhajan-Symonds issue’, as the manager he did not let the Aussies get away. He stood firm, a legacy of his army-man father.

Became a parliamentarian with BJP in 1991. He did not join for any career advancement, as is the recent trend. He was always a firm believer in Shyama Prasad and Vajpayee’s ideals. Even in his political career he showed exemplary courage and perseverance, for which he was so well known in cricket circles. Liberal-minded, he was beyond meanness and greed.

Last time I met him was during an IPL match in 2013 at Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi. When I told him about a certain facility that was not attended to as promised, Chetan smiled, “Raju bhai, Delhi will always be Delhi. Everyone will promise “koi baat nei, ho jayega” but nothing will be done. However, you need not worry, we shall arrange things in such a manner that you would be satisfied before the match starts.” He kept his word.

Chetan Chauhan will be remembered as an honest, determined soul with no frills. A very gutsy man who did not take things lying down. Independent and confident, he never tried to befriend or influence the media. A knowledgeable man full of wit and reason. Even up there, he will not rest. He will do something worthwhile to keep himself busy. Marvellous soul.