It’s homecoming for both Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav ahead of next year’s IPL. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

In what is the first trade ahead of the IPL 2027 season, Lucknow Super Giants has sent captain Rishabh Pant back to his former franchise, Delhi Capitals, in exchange for left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

Pant, who became the most expensive player in IPL history when LSG signed him for Rs 27 crore at the 2025 mega auction, returns to Delhi on a revised salary of Rs 15 crore. Kuldeep, meanwhile, joins LSG on a Rs 13.5 crore contract.

Pant becomes the second marquee player to accept a pay cut as part of a high-profile IPL trade. Ahead of the 2026 season, Chennai Super Kings swapped Ravindra Jadeja with Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, with Jadeja’s salary dropping from Rs 18 crore, his retention fee in 2022, to Rs 14 crore after the move.

For Lucknow, the arrival of Kuldeep brings one of the league’s premier wrist-spinners into the fold. The Uttar Pradesh cricketer will now represent his home state’s IPL franchise. Although he endured a relatively quiet 2026 campaign after spending much of India’s victorious T20 World Cup run on the bench, Kuldeep was a key performer for Delhi Capitals over the previous four seasons, claiming 72 wickets in 65 matches at an economy rate of 8.24 after joining the franchise in 2022.

Published on Jun 23, 2026