Former India opener Chetan Chauhan succumbs to COVID-19
New Delhi: One of Indian cricket's most well-known batsmen without an international hundred, former opener Chetan Chauhan died on Sunday due to COVID-19 related complications after being put on life support for nearly 36 hours.
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. Chauhan was currently serving as the Minister of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, and Civil Security in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet.
"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," his younger brother Pushpendra told PTI.
Chauhan, who was the legendary Sunil Gavaskar's longest serving opening partner, was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi PGI in Lucknow on July 12 after being testing positive for COVID-19.
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.
After retiring, Chauhan served as the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in various capacities - president, vice-president, secretary and chief selector - apart from being manager of the Indian Team during its tour of Australia in 2001.
He was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, in 1991 and 1998 and was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1981.
Chauhan is the second UP minister to have succumbed to coronavirus. On August 2, state technical education minister Kamla Rani Varun, 62, had died days after testing positive for COVID-19.
During his 12-year-long cricket career, Chauhan played 40 Tests scoring 2084 runs with 16 half-centuries and two wickets. He could not ever get a hundred with being 97 his best.
With Gavaskar, Chauhan formed a foridable opening partnership for India and the duo scored more than 3000 runs, including 12 century stands.
Having made his first-class debut as a 22-year-old against Mumbai, Chauhan was known to be a brave batsman of his generation.
One of the most memorable moments of his career as an opener was the 213-run stand with Gavaskar against England at The Oval in 1979, during which he scored 80 runs.
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Iran’s Fars news agency reports Khamenei’s daughter, grandson killed in strikes
Tehran: Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency is reporting that several close family members of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been killed in the recent joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
According to Fars, the supreme leader’s daughter, son-in-law and grandson were killed in the attacks. The agency, which is aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cited sources close to Tehran’s leadership for the information.
This report follows wide-ranging claims and counter-claims about the impact of the strikes on Iran’s top leadership. Israeli and US officials have suggested that Khamenei himself was killed, though Tehran has repeatedly denied those claims and described them as psychological warfare.
There has been no official confirmation from Iranian authorities regarding the deaths of Khamenei’s family members, and independent verification of the reports is still lacking.
