Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav Trade Between LSG and DC Formalized

Kathmandu. The high-profile player trade between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been formally completed. Pant has now returned to his former team Delhi Capitals, where he played nine seasons of IPL from 2016 to 2024. Lucknow had bought him at a record price of 27 crore Indian Rupees in the IPL 2025 auction, which is the highest price ever. However, he will now go to Delhi at a revised fee of 15 crore Indian Rupees. On the other hand, spinner Kuldeep Yadav will join Lucknow Super Giants at his usual fee of 13.5 crore Indian Rupees. Due to the difference between Pant's previous and current price, Lucknow will be able to add 13.75 crore to its purse (remaining amount to buy players) for the upcoming auction, while 1.25 crore rupees will be deducted from Delhi's purse. In recent times, Pant has become the second biggest player after Ravindra Jadeja to have his salary reduced while being part of a trade. Before IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made the biggest trade in history by exchanging Jadeja and Sam Curran with Rajasthan Royals' Sanju Samson. In 2022, Chennai had retained Jadeja for 18 crore, but Rajasthan brought him into their team by giving him a salary of 14 crore. The IPL 2026 season was very difficult for both Pant and Kuldeep. Pant, who captained Lucknow, scored only 312 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 138.05, with an unbeaten 68 being his best performance. His team finished at the bottom of the points table with only four wins out of 14 games. Two days before the IPL 2026 final, Pant announced his decision to step down as captain of Lucknow. This decision came after LSG team director Tom Moody stated that the team was looking for a 'reset' in leadership after finishing seventh in 2024 and 2025, and last in 2026. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals finished sixth in IPL 2026. Kuldeep, playing for Delhi, took only 10 wickets in 11 innings, bowling 37 overs. This season he proved to be very expensive with an economy of 10.29. However, overall, Kuldeep has been an important player for the team since joining Delhi in 2022, where he has taken 72 wickets with an economy of 8.24 in 65 games.