The Deccan Chargers were a part of the IPL in the first five seasons. They finished at the last position in the first IPL season, but they came back like champions and won the title in South Africa next year. Some big T20 names like Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, and others represented this franchise.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad replaced the Deccan Chargers in the year 2013. It is pertinent to note that after Rohit Sharma and Gilchrist’s release, the Chargers could not make much impact in the IPL. After their exit, SRH retained a majority of their players and slowly built another champion team.
This article will look at those five players who only played for the Deccan Chargers in IPL and then never returned to the competition.
1.Fidel Edwards
West Indian fast bowler Fidel Edwards was a part of the Deccan Chargers team that won the IPL trophy in 2009. Edwards played six matches for the team, picking up five wickets for the Adam Gilchrist-led outfit.
It is noteworthy that Edwards even bowled a maiden over in those six games. That said, the Deccan Chargers still did not prefer to retain him for the 2010 season. Unfortunately, no other team showed interest in this Caribbean talent.
2.Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was one of the many Pakistani players who received a chance to play in the first IPL season. Afridi was the only player from his country to play for the Deccan Chargers.
The all-rounder played ten matches for the franchise, scoring 81 runs at a blistering strike rate of 176.09. He opened the batting twice for them. His 3/28 against the Rajasthan Royals were his best bowling figures.
3.Chaminda Vaas
Sri Lankan fast bowling legend Chaminda Vaas was an integral part of the Deccan Chargers team from 2008 to 2010. He played 13 matches for the Deccan team and scalped 18 wickets for the side.
The highlighting statistics of his IPL career were his two maiden overs and his economy rate of 7.55. Vaas’ left-arm action gave him the ‘X-factor’ advantage against the batsmen in the pace-friendly conditions of South Africa.
4.Chamara Silva
The Deccan Chargers preferred signing Sri Lankan talent as they even opted for the services of Chamara Silva in the IPL. The middle-order batsman was a part of the squad during the inaugural season.
Silva played three matches for the Chargers, where he aggregated 40 runs at a strike rate of 153.85. He even bowled an over against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Unfortunately, Silva gave away 21 runs in his six balls, which proved to be his last IPL outing.
5.Nuwan Zoysa
Another Sri Lankan name to feature on this list is the left-arm fast-medium bowler Nuwan Zoysa. The 42-year-old earned his only IPL contract from the Deccan Chargers in 2008.
Zoysa played three games for the franchise. The batsmen dominated him in those games as he leaked 99 runs in his 11 overs and scalped two wickets. Since he could not impress much in his debut season, no other franchise wished to invest in his services.
