The IPL team Chennai Super Kings has secured all-rounders Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards from Sunrisers Hyderabad in a trade deal while giving up pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis in exchange ahead of the IPL 2027 auction.

Livingstone will join the Super Kings at a reduced price of ₹6 crore from his current salary of ₹13 crore, which SRH forked out in the auction. Edwards joins at his existing fee of ₹3 crore. Khaleel and Ellis have moved to Sunrisers for their existing salary of ₹4.8 crore and ₹2 crore, respectively.

This is CSK’s first trade under new head coach Zaheer Khan, who has taken over from Stephen Fleming.

CSK MD K.S. Viswanathan said, “We wanted a power-hitting all-rounder in the middle-order at number 6 or 7, and we felt Liam Livingstone is the right option for that. Similarly, Jack Edwards is a promising seam-bowling all-rounder and can complement Jamie Overton.”

Khaleel scalped 15 wickets in 2025 but played only five matches this year before he picked up an injury. While teams are generally reluctant to part with Indian pacers easily, as there are few options, concerns about Khaleel’s fitness seem to have played a role in the decision to let the Indian pacer go.

With Mukesh Choudhary and Gurjpaneet Singh in the squad, CSK already has two left-arm pace options. It is learnt that the team will look for an overseas pacer in the upcoming mini-auction to fill the slot vacated by Nathan Ellis, who is considered one of the best death-overs specialists. Ellis missed the 2026 season due to a hamstring injury and played only one game in 2025.

By getting in Edwards, who is yet to make his IPL debut, it appears the five-time champion has taken a punt on the future. The 26-year-old Australian has taken 58 wickets in T20 cricket, playing in the Big Bash League and Major League Cricket.

IPL Trade: Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh set for a swap? | IPL 2027 | Cricket
| Video Credit:
The Hindu