Knew at my time with Deccan that Rohit was something special: Styris

With five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles to his name as captain alone, Rohit Sharma has immortalized himself as an IPL legend at Mumbai Indians (MI). But before his move to Mumbai, Rohit had already made a name for himself as an extraordinary talent during his stint with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DCH).

Rohit played 47 games for DCH across three seasons and amassed 1,219 runs at an average of 30.48 and strike rate of 130.4. He was ultra-consistent, scoring over 350 runs in all three seasons he played for the franchise. The then budding Indian batter played a significant part in the side's title-winning campaign in 2009.

At Deccan, Rohit played alongside several yesteryear superstars and one of them was Scott Styris, who represented the franchise 12 times across the 2008 and 2009 seasons. 

Speaking exclusively on Unwind with Cricket.com, the former New Zealand all-rounder recalled how it didn’t take long for him to realize that Rohit was a special talent who was destined for great things.

“It [IPL 2008] was my first opportunity to be a teammate and see (and hear of ) Rohit Sharma. He was with us at the Deccan Chargers. He was 19 or 20 years old at that time and I could see then that this kid was something special,” Styris said on Unwind with Cricket.com.

“I’ve just come back from Sri Lanka where I commentated on India vs Sri Lanka, caught up with him there and he’s still the same guy that he was 16 years ago.”

During his time with the Chargers, Styris experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. 

In his first season with the franchise, he saw DCH finish rock bottom, with just two wins in 14 games. The former New Zealand man put the horror show down to a lack of balance in the squad.

“The very first year we were actually favourites to win it and we came last. Part of that was because we didn’t have great balance. We had great names on paper but you’re only allowed to play four overseas players,” Styris said.

“We’d either load up the batting and the bowling would be weak, or we’d load up the bowling and the batting would be weak. When we tried to load it up with all-rounders, we were a little bit bits and pieces and weren’t quite strong enough in any of them and ended up coming last.”

But then, in what’s still the most spectacular turnaround in IPL history, the Chargers went on to win IPL 2009 which was held in South Africa. 

“A couple of changes in the side, a new coach and we ended up finding that balance and getting it right,” Styris recalled.

“We [Deccan Chargers] had a really good time.”

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