Former India player Chandu Borde, Sunil Gavaskar and ex-Maharashtra pacer Pandurang Salgaonkar paid rich tributes to Chetan Chauhan, remembering him as an "energetic and a helpful" teammate when he represented India and Maharashtra in his playing days.
Chauhan, one of Indian cricket's most well-known batsmen without an international hundred, died on Sunday due to Covid-19 related complications after being put on life support for nearly 36 hours.
Chauhan studied in Pune and also played for Maharashtra under Borde.
"When he played for Maharashtra, he was one person who had a positive outlook for cricket," Borde, who was also a former selector and cricket manager, told PTI.
"He was full of confidence and he was very hardworking. Not only that he was a gutsy player. I personally feel he was an asset to the team - both India and Maharashtra.
"He was all the very positive and that was good for the team. He also used to encourage everybody and there was a confidence in his talk," he added.
Salgaonkar, who is also a noted curator, said Chauhan helped him in his initial days.
"I have played with Chauhan for Maharashtra and in my initial years he was very helpful to me. Because of Chetan, there was encouragmemt for younger players," the 70-year-old said.
"He was an opening batsman and I was an opening bowler and we had a good tuning. He used to like to play me (in the nets), that is one of the thing. He was very helpful to everybody.
"When I came into the team, there was an uncomfortable feeling and he was the one, who helped me tide over it," recalled Salgaonkar.
Sunil Gavaskar, on the other hand, blames himself to this day for Chauhan missing out on two centuries during his playing career. In his column for The Telegraph, Gavaskar says about his partner, "I firmly believe I was responsible for him (Chauhan) missing out on 2 occasions, both in Australia in the 1980/81 series down under".
Gavaskar explains that he was pulled into the players' balcony during the 2nd Test when Chetan was batting on 97. Gavaskar, who was known for his superstitious beliefs, was watching the match on TV in the dressing room. His teammates asked him to join them in the balcony so that they could cheer and applaud when Chetan reached his 100. Gavaskar obliged, only to see Chetan getting caught behind off the bowling of Dennis Lille in the very next ball.
Talking about the other occasion, Gavaskar said he lost his cool after falling prey to a 'terrible decision' while batting. The Australians abusing him while he was on his way out didn't help either, and he, in a fit of rage, tried to pull Chetan Chauhan out of the field. He believes that must have caused a lapse in concentration on Chetan's part, as he was out soon after.
Chauhan, who was 73, was serving as the Minister of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, and Civil Security in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet.