IPL 2019: Deccan Chargers first ever IPL XI- Where are they now?
The Deccan Chargers were one of the eight franchises that took part in the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League in 2008. However, unlike the other seven franchises, the Deccan Chargers are no longer part of the tournament. The IPL governing council terminated the franchise for breaching contract terms in October 2012. Sunrisers Hyderabad took their place in the league.
Deccan Chargers are the only discontinued team to have won an IPL trophy. They won the second edition in South Africa in 2009 by defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the finals.
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Before the start of inaugural edition, many cricket pundits and fans considered Deccan Chargers as strong favorites to lift the trophy, since they had many match-winning players in their ranks who were capable of changing the course of the match in just a few overs. But, Deccan Chargers failed to live up to the expectations as they finished at the bottom of the points table
Deccan Chargers played their maiden IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders on 20th April 2008 at Edens Gardens and lost the match by 5 wickets in a low scoring encounter. Hence, let us look at the playing XI of Deccan Chargers that took the field in their maiden IPL encounter and where they are now
#1 Adam Gilchrist (WK)
Legendary Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist opened the innings for Deccan Chargers in their maiden IPL match and scored 23 runs from 22 balls before being dismissed by Murali Kartik. Gilchrist was their best batsmen in the 2008 edition and finished the tournament as their highest run scorer with 436 runs from 14 matches at an average of 33.53 and a strike rate of 137.10.
Gilchrist played for Australia from 1996-2008 and was an integral member of Australia's ODI team which won 3 consecutive ICC ODI World Cups in 1999,2003 and 2007. Gilchrist is also regarded by many cricket pundits and experts as one of the greatest wicket-keeper batsmen to have played the game of cricket.
Gilchrist was part of Deccan Chargers franchise till 2010 and then played for Kings XI Punjab from 2011 to 2013. Currently, Gilchrist has a number of company directorships outside of cricket and works as a commentator and cricket analyst.