Former Indian Test opener Chetan Chauhan, who forged a prolific opening partnership with Sunil Gavaskar, has died aged 73 from coronavirus, his brother told AFP.

Chauhan, who tested positive last month, was put on ventilator support at a hospital in Gurgaon, but his condition worsened after he suffered multiple organ failure.

He is one of the highest profile figures to die from the disease in India. After playing 40 Tests for India, Chauhan switched to politics and was a minister in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as a member of the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

“He had tested negative but then the reports came [back] positive again,” brother Pushpendra Chauhan told AFP.