2026-10-30 · Major update · IPL Guide newsroom
THE PANT-KULDEEP SWAP — The biggest trade of the IPL 2027 window was completed in June 2026: Lucknow Super Giants traded their captain Rishabh Pant to Delhi Capitals, with left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav moving from Delhi to Lucknow in exchange. Pant returns to the franchise he captained before his record Rs 27 crore move to Lucknow at the 2025 mega auction; Kuldeep, a Capitals player since 2022, becomes the headline spinner of the LSG rebuild.
WHY DELHI DID IT — Delhi finished sixth in 2026 and have now rebuilt their spine in one move: Pant gives new head coach Sourav Ganguly a marquee Indian batter-keeper around whom the XI and the marketing both organise. The cost is real — Kuldeep was Delhi's most reliable wicket-taker in the middle overs — and the Capitals' December auction list now starts with finding spin to replace him.
WHY LUCKNOW DID IT — LSG finished bottom in 2026, and the trade converts one expensive, unsettled asset into a proven match-winner in a scarcer role. Kuldeep joins Mohammed Shami in a Lucknow attack that suddenly looks like the side's strength. The open questions for LSG are the ones the retention list will answer on 15 November: who captains, and who keeps wicket.
THE SECOND DEAL — In October 2026, Delhi completed a second trade: fast bowler T. Natarajan moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad, with uncapped leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari moving to Delhi in exchange. Natarajan returns to Hyderabad, where he built his IPL reputation, and gives SRH the left-arm death bowler their batting-heavy side has wanted; Ansari gives Delhi young, inexpensive wrist-spin depth after Kuldeep's exit.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THIS SITE'S PAGES — The squad listings on our team pages are the verified IPL 2026 lists, so Pant still appears under Lucknow, Kuldeep and Natarajan under Delhi, and Ansari under Hyderabad. Each of the four player profiles now carries a confirmed-trade banner at the top, and each team page shows the moves in its coaching and ownership section. The listings themselves will be replaced in place when the official 2027 squads are finalised after the 16 December auction.
THE WINDOW IS STILL OPEN — The trade window stays open until 9 December 2026, one week before the Goa mini-auction, and reopens a month before the season. More deals are possible; only announcements by franchises or the league count as confirmed, and this site labels everything else as reported. See the retention hub and the four team pages for the full picture.
Sources: Trade deals as reported by ESPNcricinfo and mainstream coverage (June and October 2026) and summarised in this site's 26 October 2026 retention-deadline update; franchise announcements.
Two trade deals are confirmed for IPL 2027: Rishabh Pant has moved from Lucknow Super Giants to Delhi Capitals with Kuldeep Yadav going the other way, and Delhi have traded T. Natarajan to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Zeeshan Ansari. What each deal does to the four squads.
Official IPL/BCCI and franchise announcements first, then reputable reporting such as ESPNcricinfo. This post names its sources at the bottom, and unconfirmed items in it are labelled 'reported'.