Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned whether Delhi Capitals improved through their recent trades ahead of the 2027 season.
Delhi Capitals have made significant moves in the trade market ahead of IPL 2027, bringing back Rishabh Pant from Lucknow Super Giants and acquiring leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari from Sunrisers Hyderabad. The franchise, which failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2026, has also overhauled its coaching staff by appointing Sourav Ganguly as head coach and Yuvraj Singh as assistant-cum-batting coach. These changes represent a major restructuring as the franchise prepares for the upcoming season.
In the first trade, Delhi Capitals sent Kuldeep Yadav to Lucknow Super Giants in exchange for Rishabh Pant, who returned to the franchise at a value of INR 15 crore. Lucknow had originally acquired Pant for INR 27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Pant played nine seasons for Delhi Capitals from 2016 to 2024, featuring in 111 matches before his departure. The Pant trade resulted in Delhi Capitals losing approximately INR 1.25 crore in purse impact.
"I ask this question Delhi, 'Are you better off?' How many spinners like Kuldeep Yadav are there in the country? It is almost impossible to replace Kuldeep. Did you need Rishabh Pant? He is a good player, but do you need him? Do you have a place in the middle order? LSG were beneficiaries in that deal," Chopra said in a video on his official X account.
Natarajan departs as Ansari joins Delhi Capitals
In the second trade, Delhi Capitals acquired leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari from Sunrisers Hyderabad, with T Natarajan moving in the opposite direction. The trade added INR 10.35 crore to the Capitals' purse while taking INR 4.6 crore off SRH's allocation. Natarajan had been one of Delhi's bigger buys at the previous mega auction, costing the franchise INR 10.75 crore, but he featured in only 12 matches across his two seasons with the side. Ansari featured in 10 matches for SRH in IPL 2025 and picked up 6 wickets.
"Now you need a spinner to replace Kuldeep Yadav. You have Vipraj Nigam and Axar Patel, so you went for Zeeshan Ansari. You had to release T Natarajan, there is no doubt about it. You may also have to release Auqib Nabi and Mukesh Kumar as well," he added.
"But after all this, are you better off? That is the question you must need to ask. I must say, I am not convinced yet," he added.
"As far as the trades are concerned, LSG would be the happier from the Kuldeep-Pant trade, and now SRH will be happier. So Delhi, what exactly are you guys doing?" Chopra concluded.