Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have made some interesting moves ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction. LSG's most high-profile trade has come in their acquisition of veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami, who has been brought in from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 10 crore. The Sanjeev Goenka-owned outfit have let go of three big-money stars from the IPL 2025 mega auction, in the form of Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi, Indian pacer Akash Deep and South African middle-order batter David Miller.
Rishabh Pant, who was bought for an IPL record fee of Rs 27 crore, has been kept by LSG despite a poor 2025 season. Pant showed a glimpse of his talent with a century in LSG's final IPL 2025 match, and has been in exceptional form for India in Test cricket thereafter.
West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph has been released by LSG, while uncapped Indian players Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Aryan Juyal have also been let go of.
LSG will enter the IPL 2026 mini auction with a purse of Rs 22.95 crore.
Players Retained: Rishabh Pant (c), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Digvesh Rathi, M Siddharth, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh
Players Released: David Miller, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Deep, Aryan Juyal, Shamar Joseph, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Players Traded In: Mohammed Shami (from Sunrisers Hyderabad), Arjun Tendulkar (from Mumbai Indians)
Players Traded Out: Shardul Thakur (to Mumbai Indians)
AUCTION BUDGET: Rs 22.95 crore