IPL 2027 - Rishabh Pant set to be traded to Delhi Capitals Lucknow Super Giants to get Kuldeep Yadav in return

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Pant, who became the most expensive buy in IPL history when LSG bought him for INR 27 crore (US$ 3 million approx.) at the 2025 mega auction, will go to DC for INR 15 crore (US$ 1.5 million approx.). Both franchises are still finishing the formalities of this deal and then will have to wait for the BCCI to ratify it.

Pant becomes the second big name player after Ravindra Jadeja to take a pay cut as part of the trade. Ahead of IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings made one of the biggest trades in IPL history when they swapped Jadeja for Sanju Samson with Rajasthan Royals. In 2022, CSK had retained Jadeja for 18 crore but RR got him after offering a salary of INR 14 crore. It is understood that Pant was approached by two franchises – DC and another team that has won the IPL more than once – to play for them.

Kuldeep, who plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket, will now play for the IPL franchise that represents the state. He had a difficult IPL this year, after spending most of India’s title-winning T20 World Cup campaign on the bench. Overall though, the left-arm spinner was an asset to DC, picking up 72 wickets in 65 games at an economy of 8.24 since joining them in 2022.

Two days prior to the IPL 2026 final, Pant told LSG, who finished bottom of the points table, he was going to step down as their captain. The development followed LSG team director Tom Moody suggesting immediately after the team’s last match of the season that franchise was looking to “reset” the leadership in the wake of finishing seventh in 2024 and 2025 and then last in 2026.

Pant was with LSG for two seasons but it was a struggle. As skipper, he won 10 matches and lost 18. As batter, he scored 581 runs at an average of 26.4 and a strike rate of 135.74, both of which are lower than his career T20 numbers.

That was in contrast to his three-and-a-bit years at DC where he became the fifth-youngest captain in the IPL after being appointed initially in an interim capacity in 2021. Pant led DC in 44 matches from 2021 to 2024 (he missed the 2023 edition recovering from a car crash) of which they won 24 and lost 19. As captain, Pant scored 1205 runs while averaging 35.44 – almost identical to his overall IPL average of 35.31 – at a strike rate of 143.96, only slightly worse than his IPL strike rate of 148.93.

If the trade goes through successfully Pant’s return to DC will be similar to that of Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians, both players returning to the franchise where their IPL journey started. In Pant’s case, he joined DC in 2016 when they was called Delhi Daredevils. Ahead of the 2025 mega auction Pant opted to be released after talks with the DC leadership group which included co-owner Kiran Grandhi and Parth Jindal.

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