Trade window activity ahead of IPL 2027 retention deadline sees multiple moves including Rishabh Pant return

Several Indian Premier League franchises completed trade deals involving players such as Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Zeeshan Ansari, T Natarajan, Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards, Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis ahead of the IPL 2027 retention deadline on November 17, 2026, with the mini-auction scheduled for December 16, 2026 in Goa.

The 2027 tournament will be the IPL’s 20th edition; the competition began in 2008. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) originally set November 15 as the deadline for teams to announce retained and released players but extended it to November 17. Franchises have kept working through the trade window as they prepare their squads and have not yet publicly confirmed their retention lists. Teams are using the trading period to address gaps ahead of the December mini-auction.

The largest transaction in the window saw Rishabh Pant return to Delhi Capitals, with Kuldeep Yadav moving to the Lucknow Super Giants as the exchange. That swap has been described within the window as the most significant deal completed so far.

Sunrisers Hyderabad emerged as the most active franchise in the trading period, executing multiple moves. They traded Zeeshan Ansari to Delhi Capitals and, in that set of dealings, re-acquired their former player T Natarajan.

Sunrisers also conducted a separate two-for-two arrangement, sending Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards to CSK and receiving Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis in return. Those trades were completed during the same window as the other franchise negotiations.

The reports compiling these transactions present a list of trade deals finalised ahead of the IPL 2027 mini-auction. The amounts that appear alongside players in that compilation represent each player’s salary cap and do not include any trade fees.

With the retention announcement deadline set for November 17, 2026 and the IPL 2027 mini-auction taking place on December 16, 2026 in Goa, franchises will finalise remaining roster moves before the auction date.