New Delhi: Rishabh Pant had grabbed headlines after being acquired by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a record price of Rs 27 crore in the IPL player auction in December 2023.
Two-and-a-half years later, Pant is again among newsmakers again, this time for an entirely different reason.
In the biggest trade deal in IPL’s 18-year history, wicketkeeper-batter Pant has taken a 44% pay cut to return to Delhi Capitals for next year’s edition of the T20 league.
From being the most expensive player in IPL history at Rs 27 crore, Pant’s revised fee will be Rs 15 crore, the Indian Premier League announced on Tuesday.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep will shift from Delhi to Lucknow at his existing fee of Rs 13.50 crore.
More than Kuldeep, Pant has been the talking point as the buzz over the possibility of him leaving the Lucknow franchise grew louder over the last few weeks.
LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka had spoken about building a long-term association with Pant after outbidding Delhi Capitals at the auction on December 19, 2023, held in Dubai. He even said that Pant could stay at the franchise for 15 years and lead the side to four-five IPL titles.
However, things did not go as planned and Pant had two underwhelming seasons with LSG.
Known to be a swashbuckling batter who had the capability to improvise and ‘manufacture’ shots, the left-hander managed just 269 and 312 runs in 2025 and 2026, respectively, for LSG.
The team failed to qualify for the playoffs in both seasons under his captaincy, finishing 7th and last (10th) in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
He announced at the end of IPL 2026 that he would resign from leadership role.
Pant now returns to the franchise where he spent nine seasons between 2016 and 2024, making 111 appearances — the most by any player for Delhi Capitals.
