VVS Laxman, who led the Deccan Chargers in the inaugural Indian Premier League season, was replaced by former Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist to "re-unite the outstanding talent".
NEW DELHI: VVS Laxman, who led the Deccan Chargers in the inaugural Indian Premier League season, was on Monday replaced by former Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist to "re-unite the outstanding talent" of the team which ended at the bottom despite its star-studded line-up.
Laxman had drawn criticism from his team team member Shahid Afridi who said Twenty20 cricket was not the forte of the Indian batsman after the team managed only two wins from their 14 matches with the likes of Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris and Rohit Sharma in its ranks.
"Adam Gilchrist commands respect within the team and right around the cricket world. He has redefined the role of wicketkeeper/batsman in modern cricket," said Tim Wright, Chief Executive of Deccan Chargers in a statement issued here.
"I am confident Adam Gilchrist will unite Deccan Chargers' outstanding talent. Four members of our squad were on the India tour of Sri Lanka, more than any other IPL team, and the quality of our overseas players is well known. These players will play for Gilchrist," he added.
Gilchrist, who averaged 47.60 runs in 96 Test Matches and 35.89 runs in 287 One-Day Internationals, helped Australia win the World Cup three times.
The wicketkeeper-batsman holds the world Test record for number of sixes hit (100) and has claimed 472 dismissals behind the stumps.
Adam Gilchrist said "It's a tremendous thrill and honour to become captain of the Deccan Chargers. I look forward to working hard with everybody towards making the team successful."
In a further move to add depth and strength to the support staff, Deccan Chargers have appointed Darren Lehmann as Head Coach.
Lehmann scored the winning runs in the 1999 World Cup Final at Lords and helped Australia retain the World Cup in 2003.
"We are delighted to be giving Darren Lehmann his first post as coach and have no doubt he will be a great success. He has already brought considerable energy into the group and has a no nonsense approach to winning cricket matches. Darren Lehmann is in India this week to run player trials in Hyderabad . We are looking to build a solid talent base for the future," said Wright.
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