Welcome to the fans and sponsors of Deccan Chargers to the second IPL season.

Before I start, I take this opportunity to thank the new Chairman and his Board, as well as the owners and staff of Deccan Chargers for their support this year and congratulate them on their forward thinking and drive to make this team the best as can be.

As coach of the Deccan Chargers, I promise a side that will be fitter, stronger, smarter and more skilled this year. We will be working hard as a playing group and coaching staff to make you all proud of our performances. Our style of play will be entertaining, with explosive batting, but also a new found drive to excellence in fielding. Our bowling with the recruits we have, will have more strike power and also give the new captain Adam Gilchrist plenty of variation to work with in this year’s IPL.

I must take this opportunity to welcome to the Deccan Chargers our new players this year. Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith from the West Indies bring flair and pace to our team and I am looking forward to their contribution this year and the next. Ryan Harris from Australia, a fast bowler who can field like a panther or should I say rampaging bull, and hit the ball as well. Watch out for him.

To a few local players that have come on board - T. Suman, A. Kumar, M. Bisla, J. Singh and H. Singh - I'm sure by the end of the season you as fans will know them well. They each bring there own skill set to us to improve the overall balance of our team.

I also would like to congratulate Adam Gilchrist on his appointment as captain for this year and with his knowledge of the game and the explosive way he plays, I'm sure all players are looking forward to working with him. Add to this the likes of our stars in the Indian team - Rohit Sharma, R.P. Singh, V.V.S. Laxman and P. Ojha and our overseas players - Herschelle Gibbs who needs no introduction, Scott Styris New Zealand, Andrew Symonds from Australia, C. Silva, C. Vaas and N. Zoysa all from Sri Lanka - I'm sure they will excite you throughout the tournament. These player and the rest of the Deccan Chargers playing group will be playing for all of you and we are looking forward to your support this year.

The players will be on hand to give autographs and have photo sessions where ever possible. They are all very fine young men, so please don't hesitate to come up and say hello. Let them know that you are a Deccan Chargers fan /Sponsor and I'm sure you will get a good response.

We also have some new coaches on board and they are experienced and passionate about the team. Mike Young comes to us with a wealth of experience from Australia and he will be in charge of the fielding and team dynamics. You will love him and he will add value to our side and I guarantee you that our fielding will be one of the best in the IPL. Steve Smith is our fitness trainer and the boys will be working hard together to ensure we leave no stone unturned in our goal of becoming the fittest as well. Add to this our Physio from last year Sean Slattery and his new staff member Ashleigh Joyce to ensure that our players have the benefits of the latest and best medical practices.

This year we have a camp for players to fine tune everything we are about and team plans running from the 31st of March until the first game of the season. Look for an exciting brand coming your way this year - new colours, new team members mixed in with the guys we have from last year and we are on the charge.

Please enjoy the year and come with all of us on the charge. We are up and running and excited about this year as I'm sure you all are.

Sit back, enjoy the games and remember - The Bull is on the Charge.

Here's to an exciting and great IPL Season 2.

All the best

Darren Lehmann.
Head Coach
Deccan Chargers.