In one of the most high-profile trades set to force major changes in two IPL franchises, Rishabh Pant will be returning to his former team, Delhi Capitals (DC), in a player-to-player trade between DC and Pant’s current franchise, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), with LSG gaining the services of Kuldeep Yadav.
Not even a month has passed since the completion of the IPL 2026 season, but LSG and DC, both teams that had underwhelming last couple of seasons, have decided to ring in significant changes to their leadership personnel.
In the previous mega auction prior to IPL 2025, Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history when the Sanjeev Goenka-owned Lucknow franchise acquired the wicket-keeper’s services for a whopping INR 27 crore.
Then, Pant had left Delhi Capitals after leading them in three-and-half seasons and had been part of the franchise from 2016 to 2024.
Why is Rishabh Pant going back to Delhi Capitals?
The Pant-LSG relationship wasn’t fruitful, neither for the player nor for the franchise. In the last two IPL seasons with Pant at the helm, LSG finished 7th in both years. Pant’s own batting form was dismal in these two editions: he scored 581 runs at an ordinary average of 26 and strike rate of 135, with multiple shifts in his batting position.
Delhi and Lucknow have agreed to a trade of Pant and Kuldeep, with both players on board. Kuldeep, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has been dropped from India’s T20I team and had a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign, where he claimed only 10 wickets in 12 matches and had an economy of over 10.
What Will Be Rishabh Pant Salary In IPL 2027 At Delhi Capitals?
Pant was bought for INR 27 crore by LSG but he will join DC at a salary of INR 15 crore. Pant has agreed to take a pay cut, but Kuldeep will join LSG at his current salary at DC, which is INR 13.25 crore. This would mean that LSG’s purse will have an addition of INR 13.75 crore (Pant’s 27 crore minus Kuldeep’s 13.25 crore) for the auction. On the other hand, DC will lose INR 1.25 crore, as Pant’s 15 crore salary is that much higher than Kuldeep’s price.
Further, DC are reportedly looking at a new captain for IPL 2027. Under Axar Patel, DC failed to reach the playoffs, ending up 5th and 6th on the points table in the last two seasons.
Pant had captained DC in 44 games from 2021 to 2024, winning 29 of them. While Pant seems the frontrunner to be the Delhi captain again, the DC ownership could also turn towards KL Rahul, who has turned a corner in his white-ball batting and was a very much different batsman last season than in the previous years.
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