Rishabh Pant has agreed to a substantial pay reduction of Rs 12 crore after enduring two disappointing seasons as captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, with Delhi Capitals wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav heading in the opposite direction in a major trade completed on Tuesday.

Pant will return to Delhi Capitals for Rs 15 crore after LSG had signed him for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction, making him the most expensive player in league history at the time.

Interestingly, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka had earlier described Pant’s acquisition as a long-term investment. However, following two underwhelming campaigns, the franchise management, backed by the Australian coaching duo of Justin Langer and Tom Moody, opted to part ways with the star wicketkeeper-batter. As part of the anticipated swap, Kuldeep Yadav joins Lucknow Super Giants on his existing contract worth Rs 13.50 crore.

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Pant’s move marks a homecoming to the franchise where he played 111 matches between 2016 and 2024 before entering the auction pool. He also captained the Capitals from 2021 to 2024, leading the side in 43 matches.

His tenure with LSG, however, failed to meet expectations, both as skipper and as a batter. The Super Giants finished seventh in IPL 2025 with six wins and eight losses, before suffering an even poorer campaign in IPL 2026. Under Pant’s leadership, Lucknow ended at the bottom of the 10-team standings, managing only four victories and accumulating eight points from 14 matches.

With the bat, Pant scored just 269 runs in 14 games during the 2025 season. He fared only marginally better in 2026, registering 312 runs and recording a solitary half-century. Kuldeep, who claimed 72 wickets in 65 appearances for Delhi Capitals after joining from Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2022, also endured a difficult 2026 season. The left-arm wrist-spinner picked up only 10 wickets in 14 matches while conceding runs at an expensive economy rate of 10.30 per over.