Rishabh Pant will return to Delhi Capitals (DC) for the IPL 2027 season after he completed a blockbuster trade deal with Kuldeep Yadav, who will head to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the league announced in an official statement.
“At the TATA IPL 2025 Player Auction, Pant was acquired by LSG for a record-breaking INR 27 crore – the highest winning bid in IPL history. Following the trade, he will rejoin DC at a revised fee of INR 15 crore,” the IPL statement read.
“One of India's premier white-ball bowlers, Kuldeep will join LSG at his existing fee of INR 13.50 crore,” added the statement.
Rishabh Pant had begun his IPL career with Delhi Capitals (Then Delhi Daredevils) in 2016, and went onto play nine seasons for them. He made 111 appearances, which is the most by any player for Delhi Capitals.
The 28-year-old was also the skipper of Delhi Capitals between 2021 and 2024, captaining the side in 43 matches. Delhi Capitals won 24 matches (including a Super Over) and lost 19 as Rishabh Pant registered a win percentage of 53.48.
Rishabh Pant's forgettable stint with Lucknow Super Giants
At the IPL 2025 auction, Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history, after he was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for ₹27 crore. Upon his signing, he was named the skipper of LSG.
However, Lucknow Super Giants endured disappointing campaigns under Rishabh Pant's captaincy in both IPL 2025 and IPL 2026. LSG finished in seventh place in 2025, and in the recently-concluded season, they finished in 10th place with just eight points.
Rishabh Pant's performance with the bat was also unimpressive. He scored just 269 runs from 14 matches at a strike-rate of 133.17 in IPL 2025, and barring a century and another fifty, there was hardly any notable knock from Pant.
He endured a similarly frustrating outing with the bat in IPL 2026, scoring 312 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of 138.05. He scored just one half-century throughout the season.
Pant had stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants after the IPL 2026 season.
Kuldeep Yadav's Delhi Capitals stint
Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, joined Delhi Capitals for ₹2 crore ahead of IPL 2022, and went onto enjoy a very successful stint with the franchise.
He played 65 matches for Delhi Capitals and went onto take 72 wickets, thus establishing himself as one of the best bowlers in the league. His best season with DC came in the IPL 2022 season itself, wherein he picked up 21 wickets from 14 matches.
Both Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants are yet to win the IPL title. Delhi Capitals did reach the final of the 2020 edition, where they lost to Mumbai Indians. Lucknow Super Giants, who were introduced in IPL 2022, have made the playoffs just twice, in 2022 and 2023, but failed to reach the final on both occasions.
