Rishabh Pant, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a record-breaking INR 27 crore ahead of IPL 2025, will return to his erstwhile franchise, Delhi Capitals, after the Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals completed the high-profile trade of Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav on Tuesday. Pant joins Delhi Capitals at a revised amount of INR 15 crore. Whereas Kuldeep Yadav will link up with Lucknow Super Giants for his current fee of INR 13.5 crore. The trade sees Pant take a massive pay cut, becoming the second well-known player after Ravindra Jadeja to do so.
Prior to IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings had swapped Ravindra Jadeja with Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, with Jadeja adjusting at a fee of INR 14 crore. Notably, CSK had retained Jadeja for INR 18 crore in 2022.
In IPL 2026, Pant, captaining LSG, endured tough outings, scoring 312 runs in 13 innings. The side finished at the bottom of the table, registering four wins in 14 games. Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav too was quite expensive, enduring a disappointing season with 12 wickets from 12 matches. Until this blockbuster trade, Kuldeep had been part of DC for the past four seasons, playing 65 matches and taking 72 wickets. Previously, Pant represented the franchise in nine seasons between 2016 and 2024. He also led the side in 43 matches across four seasons from 2021 to 2024.