Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned Delhi Capitals’ (DC) recent trade moves ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 season. The franchise traded Kuldeep Yadav to bring Rishabh Pant back into the franchise and followed it up by trading T Natarajan to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Zeeshan Ansari. DC have made significant changes to their setup after failing to qualify for the playoffs in the IPL 2026 season.
The franchise parted ways with several members of their coaching staff, including head coach Hemang Badani, assistant coach Ian Bell, and bowling coach Munaf Patel. Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh were recently announced as the new coaching staff members as they take charge of the side ahead of the mini-auction. Aakash Chopra questioned both trade moves by DC, opining that they have had the worst of both deals, especially by letting go of a premier spinner like Kuldeep Yadav.”Earlier, they let go of Kuldeep Yadav and got Rishabh Pant in return.
Now they have let go of T Natarajan and have got Zeeshan Ansari in return, and I ask this question Delhi, ‘Are you better off?’ Because the Kuldeep Yadav deal, how many spinners like him are there in the country? It is almost impossible to replace Kuldeep Yadav. Rishabh Pant, did you need him? He is a good player, but do you need him? Do you have a place in the middle order? Can you put him in the top order?
LSG were beneficiaries in that deal, Aakash Chopra
So, LSG were beneficiaries in that deal,” Aakash Chopra said on his account on X. He further opined that LSG and SRH massively benefit from the deals, while DC have not significantly improved with the new additions to their squad. “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. 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. 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?”The IPL 2027 mini-auction is scheduled to take place in Goa in December 2026 as the event returns to India after four years.
T Natarajan only played 12 matches for DC after a ₹10.75 crore switchThe left-arm pacer was one of DC’s biggest buys in the previous mega auction ahead of the IPL 2025 season. However, he featured in only two matches in his first season, and had a poor IPL 2026 campaign with only five wickets in 10 matches at an average of 71.20. Zeeshan Ansari, meanwhile, made his IPL debut with SRH in IPL 2025.
He featured in 10 matches that season, picking up six wickets. He did not feature in a single match in IPL 2026 as the franchise moved on to fellow wrist spinner, Shivang Kumar.
Source: www.bing.com
