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?

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.