Former Aussie wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has been appointed captain of the Deccan Chargers.

Former India player Robin Singh, who was coach of the Deccan Chargers also made way for another former Australian southpaw, Darren Lehmann.

Gilchrist, who in any case led the Hyderabad team for most of the first season of the IPL after Laxman missed out with an injury, was also the leading run scorer for Deccan Chargers, rattling off 436 runs at 33.53.

"Adam Gilchrist commands respect within the team and right around the cricket world. He has redefined the role of wicketkeeper-batsman in modern cricket," Tim Wright, the Deccan Chargers chief executive, said.

"I am confident 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.

"We are delighted to be giving Darren Lehmann his first post as coach and have no doubt he will be a great success," Wright said. "He has already brought considerable energy into the group and has a no-nonsense approach to winning cricket matches. Lehmann is in India this week to run player trials in Hyderabad. We are looking to build a solid talent base for the future."

Despite a heavily ornamented batting line up, consisting of Heshelle Gibbs, Scot Styris, Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi, Deccan managed to win only two of the 14 games, finishing last in the eight-team tournament.

Afridi and Laxman later got entangled into a major war of words, with the Pakistani all-rounder questioning Laxman's leadership qualities and his ability to understand T20 cricket.

"At times Laxman lost the plot on the field," Afridi told Geo News. "Twenty20 cricket is not his forte. Adam is more comfortable in this type of cricket."

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.

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."