T Natarajan returns to Sunrisers Hyderabad in trade deal with Delhi Capitals

Sunrisers Hyderabad have brought back left-arm pacer T Natarajan ahead of the IPL 2027 season in a player trade with Delhi Capitals. As part of the deal, leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari moves in the opposite direction to join the Capitals. Delhi Capitals had originally bought Natarajan for INR 10.75 crore at the 2025 player auction. During his two seasons with the Capitals, he played 12 matches and picked up five wickets. He will now join Sunrisers at a revised fee of INR 5 crore. Natarajan previously represented Sunrisers from 2020 to 2024. His best season came in 2024, when he took 19 wickets to finish as the team's leading wicket-taker and helped them reach the final. Overall, he has played 73 IPL matches, taking 72 wickets with an average of 32.97 and an economy rate of 9.21. His IPL career also includes a stint with the Punjab franchise in 2017, followed by joining SRH in 2018 for INR 40 lakh, though he missed that year due to injury and did not play in 2019 either, before returning to SRH in 2022 for INR 4 crore. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Zeeshan Ansari joins Delhi Capitals after playing 10 matches for Sunrisers in 2025. The Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner made an impressive debut by taking three wickets against the Capitals and finished the 2025 edition with six wickets. Although SRH retained him for 2026, he did not play any matches that year. He moves to the Capitals at his existing fee of INR 40 lakh.

Context

Player trades during the off-season allow Indian Premier League franchises to swap contracted players directly or adjust their squad compositions before the main auction. Experienced fast bowlers and spin options are highly valued commodities in T20 cricket for managing middle-over run rates and death-over bowling pressures.