Player trades in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are slowly but steadily adding a fascinating aspect of its own in the cash-rich tournament. It has become an integral aspect of franchises assembling champion squads with a lot of tactical discussions going on behind the scenes.
Delhi Capitals agreeing to trade Shardul Thakur to the Kolkata Knight Riders took a few by surprise. The two-time champions also acquired the services of Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in a trade deal with the Gujarat Titans. Mumbai Indians acquiring Jason Behrendorff from Royal Challengers Bangalore is another trade that has been in the headlines.
The thing about trades, though, is that they might not always work out as planned. Sometimes things can go south rather quickly for a number of different reasons. Keeping that in mind, we take a look at three trades in the IPL that didn’t work out.
#1 Ajinkya Rahane from Rajasthan Royals to Delhi Capitals
Ajinkya Rahane captained the Rajasthan Royals on 24 occasions in his stint with the franchise between 2011 and 2019. The Mumbai batter was the leading run scorer for the side with 3098 runs in 106 T20 matches. However, he was sacked as captain in his final season with the team and was traded to the Delhi Capitals in exchange for Mayank Markande and Rahul Tewatia.
With an influx of top-order batters with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, Rahane never really found a consistent slot in the team. The trade didn’t work out for either side, with Markande and Tewatia not making much of an impact for the Royals either.
Tewatia eventually found some success with the 2008 IPL champions but has recently flourished in his new franchise, Gujarat Titans. Markande, on the other hand, didn’t make as much of an impact as he did with the Mumbai Indians.
#2 Ross Taylor from Rajasthan Royals to Delhi Daredevils
Ross Taylor played for four IPL franchises during his stint in the cash-rich league. Initially signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the former New Zealand captain moved to the Rajasthan Royals in 2011.
However, he played a lone season for them, scoring 181 runs at an average of 36.20 with a strike rate of 119.07 across 11 innings. Having been traded to the Delhi Daredevils, he scored 197 runs in 12 matches, averaging 19.70 at a strike rate of 115.20.
He was eventually traded to Pune Warriors India in exchange for Ashish Nehra the following season. The veteran Kiwi batter could only score 63 runs in the 2013 season.
#3 Daniel Sams from Delhi Capitals to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Ahead of the IPL 2021 season, Delhi Capitals traded Harshal Patel and Daniel Sams to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. While one of those trades worked out as planned, the other didn’t reap the same rewards.
Harshal Patel won the Purple Cap with RCB in IPL 2021, establishing himself as one of the best death bowlers going around. Daniel Sams, on the other hand, only played a couple of games, scoring six runs and taking one wicket.
The trade for the Australian wasn’t a grand success for all three parties and he was traded to the Mumbai Indians the following season.
