New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer and Uttar Pradesh minister Chetan Chauhan has tested positive for COVID-19.
The news emerged late on Saturday night from the tweets of former Indian players Aakash Chopra and R P Singh who wished him a speedy recovery.
"Chetan Chauhan ji is also tested positive for #COVID?19. Sending best wishes in his direction too...get well soon, sir," Chopra tweeted.
"Just heard about @ChetanChauhanCr ji Chetan has tested positive for #coronavirus . Praying for his speedy recovery," R P Singh wrote.
The 72-year-old underwent the COVID-19 test on Friday and has been reportedly admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi PGI hospital in Lucknow.
Chauhan's family members will undergo COVID-19 tests and they have been put under home quarantine for now. Chauhan holds the Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, PRD and Civil Security ministry in the UP cabinet. Till last year, he served as the sports minister of the state.
Chauhan, a two-time former Lok Sabha MP, is one of the few former international cricketers who have contracted the virus.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and Scotland's Majid Haq were among the high-profile names to test positive and recover from the infection.
Known to be a gritty player, Chauhan played 40 Tests between 1969 and 1978 and scored 2084 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.
He was a heavy scorer of runs in domestic cricket while playing for Delhi and Maharashtra.