Rishabh Pant is heading back to the Delhi Capitals for IPL 2027 at a revised fee of ₹15 crore, following a trade confirmed by the BCCI and IPL on June 23, 2026. Pant moves from Lucknow Super Giants, where he was signed for ₹27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Kuldeep Yadav heads the other way to LSG at his existing fee of ₹13.50 crore, per the official statement. It’s a significant discount on the record price, but DC has its man back.
The Trade Terms in Full
The BCCI and IPL confirmed the deal on June 23, 2026. Pant joins DC at ₹15 crore, a drop of ₹12 crore from the ₹27 crore LSG paid for him at the IPL 2025 mega auction, which was an IPL auction record at the time. Kuldeep Yadav moves to LSG at his existing fee of ₹13.50 crore.
The trade has a direct impact on both sides’ remaining auction purse for IPL 2027. LSG gained ₹13.50 crore in purse space, the net result of offloading Pant’s ₹27 crore contract and absorbing Kuldeep at ₹13.50 crore. DC’s purse reduces by ₹1.50 crore, reflecting the gap between Pant’s ₹15 crore incoming fee and Kuldeep’s ₹13.50 crore outgoing contract value. The arithmetic was clearly engineered to give both franchises room to manoeuvre at the next auction cycle.
Pant’s Two Seasons at LSG
Pant’s time at LSG didn’t produce the numbers his ₹27 crore price tag demanded. In IPL 2025, he scored 269 runs at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16. IPL 2026 was marginally better in isolation, 312 runs in 13 innings, best score 68 not out, average 28.36, strike rate 138.05, but the team context made it worse. LSG finished bottom of the points table with four wins from 14 games, and Pant stepped down as captain two days before the IPL 2026 final.
The strike rate across both seasons never came close to what DC had seen from him between 2016 and 2024. A wicketkeeper-batter with a career IPL strike rate of 146.79 operating at 133 and 138 across two seasons is a meaningful drop, not noise. The franchise that spent a record fee on him ended up trading him out at ₹15 crore, which tells its own story about how the two-year stint played out. The trade fee reflects what those numbers were worth in a negotiation, not what Pant is capable of at his best.
Pant’s DC Record and What He Returns With
Pant’s DC career stats across 111 appearances read 3,284 runs in 110 innings, average 35.31, strike rate 148.93. No player has appeared more times for Delhi Capitals, and his broader IPL career figures, 3,865 runs in 139 matches, average 33.60, strike rate 146.79, two centuries, 20 half-centuries, per the BCCI statement, confirm the output is there when conditions suit him.
DC is not buying a project. They’re bringing back a player they know, in a dressing room where he’s already the all-time appearance holder, at a fraction of what LSG paid. His average of 35.31 and strike rate of 148.93 across 111 DC appearances represent the version of Pant this franchise has consistently got from him, and they’re betting that familiarity brings it back.
Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals, IPL 2027 Trade Fee
DC has secured their most experienced batting option ahead of the IPL 2027 auction, and they’ve done it without gutting their remaining purse. Losing Kuldeep Yadav is a genuine bowling trade-off; he’s a high-quality spinner and one of India’s most reliable white-ball options, but the franchise’s clear priority was a settled, high-impact batter back at the top of the order.
For LSG, the deal frees up significant purse room and brings in a spinner they can build around. They shed a ₹27 crore contract that never returned full value, absorbed Kuldeep at ₹13.50 crore, and entered the IPL 2027 auction cycle with more flexibility. The Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals, IPL 2027 trade fee of ₹15 crore closes a two-year chapter at LSG and reopens one at a franchise where the records already have his name at the top.