Rishabh Pant looks set to head back to Delhi Capitals, the franchise where his IPL career began, with Lucknow Super Giants expected to take left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in return. The paperwork is understood to be in its final stages and still requires the BCCI’s formal approval, but officials on both sides are confident the first trade of the 2027 window will soon be rubber-stamped.
The proposed deal puts Pant’s price at INR 15 crore (about USD 1.5m), almost half the record INR 27 crore Super Giants spent on him at the 2025 mega-auction. For Kuldeep, it is a switch to his home state outfit; he represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and will now turn out for the IPL team that carries the state’s name.
Pant becomes the second headline player in as many years to accept reduced terms in a trade. Ravindra Jadeja did something similar before IPL 2026, moving from Chennai Super Kings to Rajasthan Royals after CSK had retained him for INR 18 crore back in 2022. In Pant’s case, two teams opened talks, one being Delhi and the other a multiple-time champion, before he opted for a familiar dressing-room.
Super Giants had signalled change was coming. They propped up the table this season, and two days before the final Pant informed the owners he would relinquish the captaincy. Shortly after the campaign ended, team director Tom Moody admitted the leadership was under review, saying the side needed to “reset” after finishes of seventh, seventh and tenth across three years.
Pant’s stint in Lucknow never really caught fire. Across 28 innings he scored 581 runs at 26.4 with a strike-rate of 135.74, both numbers below his overall T20 output. As captain he won ten matches and lost 18. Compare that with his earlier spell in Delhi: 24 wins from 44 matches in charge, 1205 runs at 35.44 and a strike-rate nudging 144. The contrast is stark.
Kuldeep, meanwhile, clocks out of Delhi with a respectable record: 72 wickets in 65 games at an economy of 8.24 since 2022. Even so, this year was tough. He spent most of India’s T20 World Cup triumph on the bench and struggled for rhythm on IPL return. A fresh start, and one closer to home, might suit him.
If the transfer clears the final hurdles Pant will, like Hardik Pandya last year, find himself back where it all started. He first pulled on a Delhi shirt in 2016, when the side were still called Delhi Daredevils, and quickly became a cornerstone of their batting order. Ahead of the 2025 auction he chose to enter the pool after lengthy chats with the Capitals’ ownership group, but the reunion now feels imminent.
Neither franchise is making grand declarations in public – both are conscious the board has the last word – yet privately there is optimism. For Delhi, reclaiming a proven match-winner at a reduced fee looks shrewd. For Lucknow, bolstering an inconsistent attack while freeing up purse space fits the longer-term plan.
Trades rarely solve every issue overnight, and both players have points to prove. Pant needs runs and a stable role; Kuldeep needs overs and confidence. Still, a move that plays to personal affinities – one man to his old club, the other to his home state – has a certain neatness about it.
