IPL Trade Deals: One of the most successful franchise cricket leagues across the globe, the Indian Premier League is set to enter another interesting campaign in the 2026 edition of the tournament.
Ahead of the season, all 10 teams will be aiming to revamp and re-strategise their plans ahead of the 19th season of the tournament.
As a result, the squads are set to announce the IPL 2026 Retained Players List ahead of the auction.
Those who are involved in the IPL 2026 released players list are likely to take centre stage in the 2026 auction, which will be hosted on December 16 at Etihad City, Abu Dhabi.
Franchises have been given a deadline of November 15 to submit their retained players list ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
Apart from retentions, franchises can exchange players outside of the auction, either for other players or in an all-cash transaction to address specific concerns of their respective sides.
List of IPL Trade Deals in History
The concept of the IPL player trade has been in existence since the inception of the league, though it was initially less common than it is today.
An exploration of IPL trade deals history reveals that numerous famous players, including Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Trent Boult, have been traded or transferred throughout the league’s existence.
Have a look at the biggest IPL swap deals below.
| Year | Player | From | To | Notes |
| 2009 | Zaheer Khan | RCB | MI | Swap deal with Robin Uthappa |
| 2009 | Ashish Nehra | DD | MI | Swap deal with Shikhar Dhawan |
| 2012 | Dinesh Karthik | KXIP | MI | Sum undisclosed; Swap deal with R Sathish |
| 2012 | Pragyan Ojha | Deccan Chargers | MI | Undisclosed sum |
| 2012 | Kevin Pietersen | Deccan Chargers | DD | – |
| 2013 | Ashish Nehra | PWI | DD | Swap deal with Ross Taylor |
| 2015 | Parthiv Patel | RCB | MI | Swap deal with Manvinder Bisla |
| 2016 | KL Rahul | SRH | RCB | – |
| 2019 | Quinton de Kock | RCB | MI | INR 2.8 crore |
| 2019 | Marcus Stoinis | KXIP | RCB | INR 6.2 crore; Swap deal with Mandeep Singh |
| 2019 | Shikhar Dhawan | SRH | Delhi Capitals | INR 5.2 crore; Swap deal with Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar |
| 2020 | R Ashwin | KXIP | Delhi Capitals | INR 7.6 crore; Swap deal with J Suchith |
| 2020 | Trent Boult | Delhi Capitals | MI | Undisclosed Sum |
| 2020 | Ajinkya Rahane | RR | Delhi Capitals | INR 5.25 crore; Swap deal with Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia |
| 2021 | Harshal Patel | Delhi Capitals | RCB | – |
| 2022 | Lockie Ferguson | GT | KKR | INR 10 crore |
| 2022 | Shardul Thakur | Delhi Capitals | KKR | INR 10.75 crore |
| 2024 | Avesh Khan | LSG | RR | INR 10 crore; Swap deal with Devdutt Padikkal |
| 2024 | Hardik Pandya | GT | MI | INR 15 crore |
| 2024 | Cameron Green | MI | RCB | INR 17.5 crore |
| 2025 | Shardul Thakur | LSG | MI | INR 2 crore |
| 2025 | Sherfane Rutherford | GT | MI | – |
| 2026 | Sanju Samson | CSK | RR | A swap deal between CSK and RR: Sanju Samson for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran |
| 2026 | Nitish Rana | RR | DC | INR 4.2 crores and a swap deal with Donovan Ferreira joining Rajasthan Royals |
| 2026 | Mohammed Shami | SRH | LSG | INR 10 crore |
| 2026 | Mayank Markande | KKR | MI | INR 30 lakhs |
IPL Trade and Swap Rules
The IPL trade deals happen outside of the main auction during the trading window. The trade requires consent from the player, approval from the IPL Governing Council, and can be either a player-for-player swap or a cash deal.
- Players should give a written consent for trade, and all deals require the formal approval of the IPL council.
- For international players, a No Objection certificate (NOC) from their respective home board is necessary to complete a trade.
- Only players retained by their franchises before the auction are eligible for trading.
- The trade fee paid will be separate from the auction value and will not affect their available budget for the auction.
- A team must maintain a squad size of 18-25, and the salary cap is within the league limits after a trade is finalised.
Trade Window Timeline
Pre-Auction: It will be open after the previous season ends and runs until a week before the auction.
Post Auction: The IPL trade last date reopens after the auction concludes and closes one month before the start of the new season.
Types of Trades
Player for Player: Two franchises will be involved, swapping their required players and any difference in their salaries is covered by an additional cash payment from one franchise to the other.
Cash-Only: A franchise buys a player from another team for a fee.
IPL 2026 Trade News
With the IPL 2026 trade window still open, we could expect several franchises to be involved a trades and player swaps ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. However, we are yet to get an official announcement from the respective franchises.
Listed below are some of the IPL trade deals ahead of the mini auction.
Sanju Samson-Ravindra Jadeja-Sam Curran Deal
There are rumours which include a blockbuster trade deal involving Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. The Rajasthan Royals captain, Samson, has asked the franchise to trade him ahead of the 2026 auction.
CSK have confirmed interest in Sanju Samson, looking for a suitable wicketkeeper to succeed MS Dhoni. However, the deal has been in talks since last week since Rajasthan did not agree on the terms with the time champions.
Despite no official confirmation, it is reported that the deal has been confirmed.
Shardul Thakur-Arjun Tendulkar Deal
On the other hand, there is speculation that the Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants are in discussions on a swap deal involving Shardul Thakur and Arjun Tendulkar.
On November 13, Shardul Thakur joined the Mumbai Indians for INR 2 crores, with Arjun Tendulkar joining Lucknow Super Giants.
Sherfane Rutherford joins the Mumbai Indians
The West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford has been traded to the Mumbai Indians from the Gujarat Titans for a price of INR 2.6 crores, which comes on the same day as Shardul Thakur joining MI.
