Listing the most high-profile trade deals in IPL history
What's the story
In a major player swap, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) have traded Kuldeep Yadav and Rishabh Pant. The trade was announced by the IPL governing council on Tuesday. Notably, Pant will return to a franchise where he started his IPL career and made a name for himself in senior cricket. On this note, we look at the most high-profile trade deals in IPL history.
#1
Pant returns to DC; Kuldeep joins LSG
The Pant-Kuldeep swap was bound to make this list. The aforementioned deal will see Pant's salary cut from ₹27 crore to ₹15 crore. Meanwhile, Kuldeep will continue with his current contract worth ₹13.50 crore. Having played 111 matches, Pant is still DC's most capped player in IPL history. On the other hand, Kuldeep moves after spending five seasons with the Capitals.
#2
The Ravindra Jadeja-Sanju Samson trade
In a major shake-up ahead of IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings traded their star all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to Rajasthan Royals for wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson. This deal saw Jadeja's fees revised from ₹18 crore to ₹14 crore. Samson, meanwhile, was traded for his existing fees of ₹18 crore. The value of Curran stood at ₹2.4 crore.. This deal took the cricket world by storm as Jadeja played 185 IPL matches for CSK. On the other hand, Samson played 149 IPL games for the Royals. He also captained the team from 2021 to 2024.
#3
Hardik Pandya's return to MI
In a shocking all-cash deal, Hardik Pandya returned to the Mumbai Indians for ₹15 crore ahead of IPL 2024. This trade took place after Pandya led Gujarat Titans to back-to-back IPL finals, including a title win in 2022. However, he opted to return to the franchise, where he had spent seven seasons since his debut in 2015. Soon after the transfer, Pandya was made the MI captain, replacing Rohit Sharma.
#4
When Shikhar Dhawan parted ways with SRH
Former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was traded from Sunrisers Hyderabad to Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2019. The talismanic batter was traded in exchange for three players - Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, and Shahbaz Nadeem. As confirmed by SRH, Dhawan was unhappy with his pay at the franchise (₹5.2 crore). Though Dhawan enjoyed three brilliant seasons with DC after this deal, Abhishek went on to be a mainstay for the Sunrisers.