Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris talked about spending time with a teenage Rohit Sharma during the IPL when they were teammates in Deccan Chargers franchise. Rohit Sharma was drafted by Deccan franchise in IPL 2008 auction and the team won the IPL 2009 with Rohit Sharma and Scott Styris being part of the squad.

Following his tenure with the Chargers, Rohit joined the Mumbai Indians, where he led the team to an incredible five IPL victories.

His success as a captain extended to the international scene, as he led India to victory in the T20 World Cup in June this year and finished second in the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup, demonstrating his excellent leadership and batting abilities.

“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. 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,” Styris told cricket.com.

Styris also remarked on the Chargers' disappointing start to the IPL in its inaugural season in 2008, when they finished last.

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

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,” Styris said.

However, in IPL 2009, Deccan Chargers replaced VVS Laxman as captain with Adam Gilchrist taking over and won the trophy as the tournament was held in South Africa.