Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on November 5 announced a four-player trade ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 retention deadline. SRH have traded England all-rounder Liam Livingstone and Australia all-rounder Jack Edwards to CSK in lieu of India left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and Australia pacer Nathan Ellis.
Livingstone has taken a huge paycut. From Rs 13 crore, he has signed for CSK for Rs 6 crore. Edwards, Khaleel and Ellis have been traded for their existing fees of Rs 3 crore, Rs 4.8 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively.
Notably, Edwards is yet to make his IPL debut. He was ruled out of IPL 2026 due to a foot injury. Also, Ellis did not play a single match for CSK in the previous season due to a hamstring injury. Khaleel played just five games before getting ruled out due to a hamstring injury. Livingstone played just two games in IPL 2026 and spent most of his time on the bench as Heinrich Klaasen did the job in the middle order.
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Who gains what from the trade?
SRH seem to have gained a lot from the trade. With Klaasen in the lineup, they merely had Livingstone as a backup. Edwards is yet to make his IPL debut. They gained a left-arm pacer Khaleel who can provide early breakthroughs with the new bal. The move raises eyebrows as SRH have also roped in left-arm pacer T Natarajan whom they traded from Delhi Capitals (DC). Also, Ellis will bolster their death overs plan. SRH already have death overs specialist Eshan Malinga and Natarajan in the lineup, along with Sakib Hussain.
CSK needed a middle-order batter who can hit big. They got one in Livingstone, who may have agreed to the pay cut on the condition of getting more game time. Last year, CSK had Matthew Short who couldn’t contribute much in limited opportunities. Also, Dewald Brevis wasn’t at his best.
It is not clear how CSK are looking at Edwards. He may be looked at as a backup for England all-rounder Jamie Overton.
Livingstone, Khaleel, and Ellis' IPL record
CSK will be Livingstone's fifth IPL franchise. He has been in an IPL-winning side only once, for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2025 edition. So far, he has played 51 IPL games and scored 1,066 runs from 49 innings, averaging 25.38 at a strike rate just over 155. He has seven fifties to his name.
Ellis made his IPL debut in 2021 for PBKS. He got a long run in the 2023 edition, where he claimed 13 wickets. He featured in just one game for CSK in IPL 2025 and was ruled out of the 2026 edition. So far, from 17 IPL games, he has 19 wickets at an average of 28.73, including a four-wicket haul. His economy rate is 8.66 runs per over.
It will be a homecoming for Khaleel, who played four seasons for SRH before joining DC and then CSK. From 76 IPL games, he has 91 wickets at an average of 27.18. His economy rate is nearly nine runs per over.
Edwards' T20 record
26-year-old Australian all-rounder Edwards made his T20I debut earlier this year against Pakistan. Apart from the Big Bash League (BBL), he has featured in only one T20 franchise league, Major League Cricket (MLC) for Washington Freedom. From 82 games, he has 58 wickets at an average of 24.25, including a fifer and a four-fer. His economy rate is eight and a half runs per over. With the bat, he is yet to score a T20 half-century. From 61 innings, he has 865 runs at an average of 15.44 and a strike rate of 120.30. His T20 high score is 47.
Ellis' inclusion indicates Cummins' exit?
Australia Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins has already said that he may skip the 2027 edition of the IPL and prioritise Test cricket. His workload will be high considering Australia have a Test series against New Zealand this year, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2027 on Indian soil and the MCG anniversary Test. Australia also have an Ashes 2027 on English soil, and Cummins-led Australia will look to defend their ODI World Cup title in South Africa.
If Cummins pulls out of IPL 2027, Ishan Kishan is highly likely to lead the side as he did in the first half of IPL 2026. Cummins' exit has opened the door for another overseas pacer. Ellis can turn out to be a good fit for SRH.
SRH updated squad after trade -
Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Kamindu Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, and Krains Fuletra.
Replacement players: David Payne, RS Ambrish, Gerald Coetzee, and Dilshan Madushanka.
Players traded in: Liam Livingstone, Nathan Ellis, T Natarajan.
CSK updated squad after trade -
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson, MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Urvil Patel, Ayush Mhatre, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Zakary Foulkes, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein.
Replacement players: Spencer Johnson, Akash Madhwal, Macneil Noronha, Kuldip Yadav, Dian Forrester.
Players traded in: Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards.
Deadline retention and IPL mini-auction
The deadline to announce the list of retained and released players is November 17. The mini-auction will take place on December 16 in Goa.