Chetan Chauhan breathed and lived cricket; DDCA owes a lot to his ability to spot talent

Former Indian cricket team opener Chetan Chauhan, who succumbed to multi-organ failure on August 16, was a great lover of Delhi cricket. His passion for the game helped him make plenty of friends, foes and he even clashed with top guns while managing cricket operations of Delhi cricket as a selector and administrator.

But one thing was unique about him – he loved cricket, raw talent and did everything possible to take Delhi cricket to greater heights. If at one point, Delhi cricketers were ruling the roost at the highest level, it was mostly because of the work done by Chetan Chauhan at the grass-root level. In other words, he had an eye for talent.

Be it a junior reporter or senior journalist, he treated everyone with the same respect and he earned back respect. He was one person who retained a lot of dignity at a place like the DDCA, which didn’t even spare a legend like Tiger Pataudi.

But Chetan Chauhan was a fighter and always held his ground and took the bull by the horns. There are still plenty of disgruntled stake-holders at DDCA, who didn’t like the sight of the gritty Chetan Chauhan. But, he didn’t bother. He had a mind and a method of his own and served the game at the DDCA in his own enviable manner.

The 2005 India-Pakistan match in the summer at the Feroze Shah Kotla (now the Arun Jaitley Stadium) was an example of his grit when the entire state association wasn't confident of staging the international game with then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as the chief guest.

However, Chetan Chauhan being Chetan Chauhan said the Kotla would be ready and that was done, despite encountering great odds.

Chetan Chauhan missed out on being a national selector

Chetan Chauhan missed out on becoming a national selector (Credits: Indian Express)

Of course, Chetan Chauhan’s love for cricket was so strong that he almost became a selector. To his own admission, his name was doing the rounds before Mohinder Amarnath became the national selector.

But, because of the suggestion from former captain Pataudi to not allow a selector who served as an office bearer in a state association, Chetan Chauhan lost out on the race.

Perhaps, a little push from the top management of BCCI could have seen him leaving DDCA and becoming a national selector.

However, not being a national selector didn’t take the shine of his aura as an expert of the game. He appeared on different TV channels and showed willingness to talk about the game with great passion.

He was compassionate towards the performers and always called a spade a spade. In between, he won and lost several elections which made him a seasoned politician. But the heart of a cricketer was always alive inside him till his last breath.

Perhaps, he was also the first cricketer to become a sports minister and had the vision to take Uttar Pradesh sports to a different level by reviving the sports hostels.

By virtue of running DDCA as an interim head, Chetan Chauhan took the UP sports ministry as a challenge. He had plans to revive three sports hostels and colleges in Lucknow, Kanpur and Meerut that produced cricketers like Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif and Praveen Kumar.

“I would like to see more international cricket matches happening in UP. I can’t let go a talent,” Chetan Chauhan often used to say.

Even we can’t let go of such a sports lover like Chetan Chauhan. Still he left us. In our hearts, he will live forever!