Top 3 biggest trade deals in IPL history

Ever since the Indian Premier League has introduced the trade window system, there have been several lucrative and high-profile transactions on the table. Shardul Thakur, who has played for seven IPL teams already since his debut in 2015, has been traded for the most number of times in the cash-rich tournament. However, he has not been able to make the cut to the most expensive trade deals in the league.

With the 2027 season of the league still 11 months away, a trade deal has already taken place between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Delhi Capitals, wherein the two teams have swapped the likes of Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav. The total transaction value of this deal was signed at INR 28.25 crore, with the wicketkeeper-batter getting the bigger chunk out of the two. But has it made the biggest IPL trade deals?

Here are three biggest trade deals in IPL history

3. Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians), IPL 2024: INR 15 crore

Hardik Pandya has become one of the most prolific all-rounders in the Indian Premier League on the back of several match-winning performances. He made his captaincy debut with the Gujarat Titans in the 2022 season and the franchise struck gold dust, as Hardik led them to a title in their maiden season itself. However, Hardik played only two seasons for the franchise and expressed an interest in looking beyond.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Hardik was swapped in by the Mumbai Indians, his first IPL team, for a whopping INR 15 crore. In order to facilitate the transaction, MI also traded Australian all-rounder Cameron Green to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Hardik’s return to the five-time champions also saw him become the captain, replacing their legendary skipper Rohit Sharma.

2. Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav (LSG and DC), IPL 2027: INR 15 crore

The player swap deal between Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav ranks second on the list of being the most valued player-to-player deals in IPL history. Despite Pant getting a pay cut of INR 12 crore from his original price of INR 27 crore with the LSG, he happily moved to his original team Delhi Capitals for INR 15 crore. 

Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, got only his basic retention price of INR 13.25 crore at DC to make a move to the Lucknow-based franchise. Ahead of the 2027 season, this is one of the most sought-after deals and was signed within a little over three weeks of the 2026 edition concluding.

1. Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran (RR & CSK) IPL 2026: INR 18 crore

While a lot of trade deals may come and go, the one where Rajasthan Royals gave away their skipper and legend Sanju Samson to get Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in return for a hefty sum of INR 18.00 crore will certainly remain among the biggest deals, not in terms of value, but in terms of the players involved.

While Samson had been the poster boy for RR over the years, Jadeja and Curran added immense value and experience as all-rounders to the CSK set-up. However, both franchises thought otherwise and announced a major trade just weeks ahead of the retentions being finalised for the nineteenth edition. Now, Samson is also reported to become the captain of CSK from the 2027 season onwards.