T Natarajan Returns to Sunrisers Hyderabad as Zeeshan Ansari Joins Delhi Capitals in IPL 2027 Player Trade

Left-arm pacer T Natarajan is returning to Sunrisers Hyderabad after a player trade with Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2027, while leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari moves to Delhi. The deal sends Natarajan back to the franchise he left after the 2025 mega auction

Natarajan returns on a revised fee of ₹5 crore, less than half of the ₹10.75 crore Delhi paid for him in 2025. Ansari joins Delhi for ₹40 lakh. The report says the trade adds ₹10.35 crore to Delhi’s purse and takes ₹4.6 crore from Hyderabad’s. Delhi release a ₹10.75 crore contract and take on a ₹40 lakh one, which leaves them with much more room to spend before the next auction. 

Hyderabad lost Natarajan in the first place at that auction in Jeddah. They could not buy him back, and head coach Daniel Vettori admitted nothing could offset the loss of the left-arm pacer. One season later, Hyderabad have him back at a much lower price. 

Ansari is a 26-year-old leg-spinner from Lucknow with only a short IPL record. He was part of India’s squad for the 2016 U19 World Cup, and he took 24 wickets in 12 games for the Meerut Mavericks in the 2024 Uttar Pradesh T20 League. Hyderabad signed him for ₹40 lakh in the 2025 auction. He made his IPL debut against Delhi, taking three wickets for 42 runs in Visakhapatnam. His victims were Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul. He then took only three more wickets in his next nine matches, but Hyderabad retained him for IPL 2026. 

The trade fits Delhi’s rebuild. Delhi missed the playoffs in both 2025 and 2026, and JSW Group takes over the franchise’s operations from IPL 2027. Sourav Ganguly was named head coach on October 6, and Yuvraj Singh has joined as assistant and batting coach. Delhi get a young leg-spinner at the minimum price and keep more money in hand, while Hyderabad get a proven new-ball bowler back for half his old price.

Meanwhile, a bigger trade looks unlikely for now. Despite heavy talk about Hardik Pandya and Yashasvi Jaiswal moving between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, a Cricbuzz report says the talks stalled months ago and are not moving forward. Jaiswal is contracted to Rajasthan for at least one more season, though the report says a trade cannot be fully ruled out.

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