Rishabh Pant was traded from Lucknow Super Giants to Delhi Capitals for Rs 15 crore after the IPL 2026 season.
Published: October 7, 2026, 4:50 PM IST
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Rishabh Pant will return to Delhi Capitals after IPL 2024 season(Photo: IANS)
IPL 2027: Till the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rishabh Pant was the most expensive cricketer across the 10 teams with a price tag of Rs 27 crore with the Lucknow Super GiantsBut back-to-back disappointing seasons with Sanjiv Goenka’s LSG mean that Pant can no longer command that same price tag in the upcoming IPL 2027 season.
The 29-year-old Indian wicketkeeper was traded from LSG back to his old team Delhi Capitals for Rs 15 crore – a salary cut of Rs 12 crore from last yearBut with a new head coach at the helm in Delhi – Sourav Ganguly – Pant will hope to recapture his old form with the bat.
Before his move to LSG in IPL 2025, Pant had notched up 446 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.54 and strike-rate of 155.4 in 2024 with DCIn comparison, Pant only managed to score 269 and 312 runs respectively in IPL 2025 and 2026 with LSG and also failed to guide them to the playoffs in any of the seasons.
DC’s new head coach and former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that DC will bring the best out of Rishabh Pant next seasonPant played 111 matches for the Capitals and scored 3,284 runs.
“We needed a middle-order batter and Pant fits it perfectlyHe was with us and he played well for usNext year, when he turns up again, I think he’ll use the time and space and the matches to become a better player,” Ganguly said in a video posted by DC on their official Youtube channel.
WATCH Sourav Ganguly speak about his new role as DC head coach HERE…
“You know he enjoys batting at the Ferozeshah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi and hopefully we’ll see the best of Pant in the years to come for the Delhi shirt,” the former BCCI President added.
Like Pant, it is a ‘homecoming’ for Ganguly with the DC team as wellHis association with the Delhi Capitals began in 2019 when he joined the franchise as an ‘Advisor’Over the years, the 54-year-old has held multiple leadership positions across the Capitals ecosystem, including Director of Cricket for both the men’s and women’s teams.
“I am very, very excitedI have been there with them for two seasons, one season as director of cricketMy first season was 2019, we lost in the semis and then I went away as BCCI presidentSo I am really excited for the season ahead.
“Delhi is a very good side and I will be giving my best to make the side successful,” Ganguly added.
Sourav Ganguly has served as head coach of Pretoria Capitals
Ganguly, whose maiden coaching stint was with DC’s SA20 outfit Pretoria Capitals, also shared some insights on his approach to the high-pressure job“It’s not the same as a playerIt’s a bit different, you need to understand things, you need to be relaxedYou still need to find a way to get the best out of players and work with the players because players are different.
“It’s not you batting or you bowling anymoreIt’s about somebody else batting or bowling or winning cricket matchesSo it’s important that you sync with them and understand what they want and how they can get better,” Ganguly revealed.
DC finished in sixth last season and Ganguly said his priority is to take the team into playoffsDelhi have reached the IPL finals only in the 2020 season under captain Shreyas Iyer.
“It’s a good team with KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, it’s a pretty strong team and I hope we play to our potential and I hope everyone understands how good they are and goes and expresses themselves,” the new DC head coach said.
