VVS Laxman has been replaced as the captain of the Deccan Chargers Indian Premier League team by Australia's Adam Gilchrist to "re-unite the outstanding talent" of the Hyderabad side, 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 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 in New Delhi.
"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."
