Rajesh Chauhan will be remembered for two things in Indian cricket. His final over six off Saqlain Mushtaq during the 2nd ODI at Karachi in 1997 was his highest point. His lowest point though came in the same year. In the Test against Sri Lanka at the SSC in 1997, Sri Lanka notched up a world record score of 952/6 declared. In that, Rajesh Chauhan's bowling figures read 78-8-276-1, which was the second worst bowling figures ever in Test history. These roller coaster instances summed up the career of Chauhan.
Chauhan was the star performer for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit. Along with skipper Chandrakant Pandit, the Madhya Pradesh team put in some credible performances during the period of the mid-90s. His performances led to his selection during the home series against England. Thus, Indian cricket was blessed with the new spin trio of Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan. During the 1994 tour to New Zealand, he was called for chucking and after several Tests conducted by the ICC, he was cleared. However, that seemed to have affected his morale and he struggled for penetration at the international level.
He was consistently overlooked as the decade progressed and he played his last series against Australia at home. During his 21 Test playing period, India won 12 matches and drew nine. Following his retirement, Chauhan settled in Bhilai, Chhatisgarh and worked as a PRO in Bhilai Steel Plant. In 2007, Chauhan escaped with his life when he was involved in a car accident in which he sustained fractures and bruises on his arm, leg and back.
by Siddharth Vishwanathan