Kolkata : Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) are set to reach an agreement for a potential trade between Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav.
Pant, who became the most expensive buy in IPL history when LSG bought him for INR 27 crore at the 2025 mega auction, will go to his former franchise DC for a reduced salary of INR 15 crore, as per Cricbuzz.
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. Across 2 seasons, Pant as a captain 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.
On contrast, while playing for DC, Pant, led the franchise from 2021 to 2024 (missing 2023 due to car crash) in 44 matches, out of which he had a decent record of winning 24 matches and 1 playoff qualification. 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. However, whether he’ll get leadership role in DC is not yet confirmed as KL Rahul (who also came to DC from LSG the year in which DC left Pant and he went to LSG) remains prime contender.
Pant 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.
Kuldeep Yadav (plays domestic for Uttar Pradesh) on the other hand, will go to LSG, a franchise that represents his 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 wristspinner was an asset to DC, picking up 72 wickets in 65 games at an economy of 8.24.
DC retained him for Rs 13.25 crore ahead of IPL 2025. He had been with the franchise since 2022 and revived his international career with successful outings in the IPL. His first season was the best for the franchise to date, as he returned with 21 wickets from 14 games and followed it up with 10, 16, 15 and 10 wickets each in the subsequent editions.
MOHAMMAD KAIF LASHES OUT AT RISHABH PANT – KULDEEP YADAV TRADE
Amid growing speculation over Kuldeep’s future, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif warned Delhi Capitals against making a hasty decision, insisting the left-arm wrist-spinner’s long-term value far outweighs a single underwhelming campaign.
“If Delhi send Kuldeep to LSG, there cannot be a bigger mistake than this. Forget this one year. You do not judge a player in one year. Ganguly is also there. He always says not to judge someone who is playing for ten years on the form of one season. If you panic at this time, which KKR did, Delhi picked Kuldeep and then see what he did except this one season. It will give you a clear picture,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Kaif doubled down on his defence of Kuldeep, arguing that the spinner has too often been made the scapegoat during difficult phases despite possessing a rare skill set. He maintained that Delhi Capitals’ struggles this season were the result of multiple issues and warned against pinning the blame on a single player.
“If Delhi has done this trade, no one supports Kuldeep when he is going through a bad time. Neither did KKR, nor did the Indian team. In the Indian team as well, he is the first to be dropped. It is difficult to find a bowler with his skill. You need to back the player. Delhi did not lose because of Kuldeep. There were a lot of errors and one of the factor was of Kuldeep. If you out the blame on one player and put him out, it will be the biggest mistake if they let him go,” Kaif added.
Pant and Kuldeep’s current IPL salaries total up to Rs 40.25 crore. As a result, a trade involving the two players would make it the most high-profile in IPL history, even surpassing the Sanju Samson-Ravindra Jadeja trade between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Official proceedings and confirmations are yet to be made from both teams.
