When winners become losers: Why the star-studded Deccan Chargers are the IPL's whipping boys

Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris - the squad list of the Deccan Chargers.

Currently the team are second bottom of the IPL with two wins from eight matches. Apart from the galaxy of stars mentioned above, they have young Indian prospects in the team in the form of Rohit Sharma and RP Singh who have proved themselves to be vital cogs in the wheel of their national side.

But still the Deccan Chargers continue to be steam-rollered by opponents in the IPL. Their failure reminds me of an idea which the ICC came up with in 2005, which was so unsuccessful they dared not to conduct it again. Does anyone remember the Test series and ODIs between Australia and a World X1 that year? Australia crushed the Rest of the World side in both forms of the game. The reason was clear - the star-studded line-up could not gel as a team.

But there's no disharmony in the Deccan Chargers. All teams in the IPL face the same problems; combining well is not just about harmony in the dressing room. Each member of the team has to know his teammates' strengths and weaknesses and strive towards a common goal.