Ranking 5 best trades of all time in IPL history

It is that time of the year where all the franchises would be looking to strengthen their respective squads, finalize their ‘core’ team, release the players, and strategize to capture new talents. Yes, it is auction time!

Now, all the teams have given the list of players that they have retained, and the mini IPL auction is reportedly set to take place sometime in February 2021. Now, news has come in that the Chennai Super Kings have traded veteran batsman Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan Royals in a bid to strengthen their batting arsenal. Also, the Bangalore outfit have decided to trade in Harshal Patel and Daniel Sams from the Delhi Capitals to bolster their bowling line up.

Over the years, several teams have indulged in trading players that have proven to be absolute masterstrokes. On that note, let us take a look at the top five best trades in IPL history.

5. Ashish Nehra – MI to DD (now DC) ahead of IPL 2009

We will travel 12 years back to understand the significance of a trade that took place in the year 2009. In the previous edition in 2008, playing for the Mumbai Indians, Ashish Nehra had endured a very ordinary season. He picked up 12 wickets from 14 games, and his economy rate too, was on the higher side (7.76) And, the Mumbai outfit decided to trade Nehra with Delhi and instead brought in hard-hitting left-hander Shikhar Dhawan from the Delhi outfit.

In the next IPL season in 2009, Nehra proved what an asset he is with the ball. The left-arm pacer scalped 19 wickets for the Delhi side in the 2009 edition, and took his wickets at an excellent average of 17.47. He gave away just 6.51 runs per over, and his strike rate too, was just 16.11.

In fact, Nehra was the third-highest wicket-taker in the 2nd IPL edition, only behind RP Singh and Anil Kumble. As far as his IPL career is concerned, Nehra played 88 matches and picked up 106 wickets at an average 23.41. He played his last season in the year 2017.