Betfacts / Andrew Hughes / 16 April 2009 /

Gilchrist takes over as captain of the most disappointing team in last year's competition, can he turn it around?

Performance Last Year

After some high profile signings, the Chargers proved to be the biggest disappointment of IPL 2008. They had a brief resurgence mid-tournament, but lost their first three and their last five, finishing bottom of the heap. The big name signings mostly flopped, particularly Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi. Andrew Symonds did his bit, but was only available for a short time. Compounding their problems was the lacklustre captaincy of VVS Laxman, who proved even less able than Dravid in leading a team in the Twenty20 format and the worst bowling attack in the IPL.

Captain

Adam Gilchrist

Three Key Players

Fidel Edwards is a good signing, his tireless and hostile bowling proved too much for England to handle recently and he should improve the Chargers considerably in this department. A resurgent Gibbs would be a huge boost to Deccan at the top of the order. And his opening partner Gilchrist is the most important player of all. Not perhaps a natural captain, he is at least a calming, competent influence and his batting remains as destructive as ever.

Strengths

On paper at least, their batting looks solid with a touch of class here and there and they should perform more effectively under Gilchrist's captaincy.

Weaknesses

Deccan are relying on those who struggled in IPL 2008 to do better this time. Players like RP Singh, Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa have to offer Fidel Edwards support, otherwise it could be a long old tournament. And the absence once more of Symonds on international duty is a blow.

Prospects

Nobody is expecting Deccan to win IPL 2009 but there is a case for saying that their current odds of [11.5] are too high. The captaincy issue has been addressed, indeed there is some speculation over whether Laxman will even be able to get into the team this time around. For a while it looked as though Symonds would be available, but though that has not come to pass, a fully-performing Gibbs is the equivalent of a new player. And there is the possibility that the pitches in South Africa will suit the likes of RP Singh and Vaas. Expect the Chargers to put up more of a fight this time.

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