Several notable player trades have taken place ahead of the IPL 2027 mini-auction, highlighted by blockbuster swaps involving high-profile stars across franchises.

On Thursday (November 5), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) completed a massive multi-player exchange. CSK acquired England batter Liam Livingstone and Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards. In exchange, SRH significantly boosted their pace attack by landing India’s Khaleel Ahmed and Australia’s Nathan Ellis.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India and CSK batter Subramaniam Badrinath claimed that the five-time champions have erred in the deal.

He questioned the logic of trading away two players who regularly featured in the starting XI for two players who struggled to break into SRH's regular lineup.

"Is it a good trade if you trade two players who play in the XI for two who don't play at all in the XI? I'd say it's a super trade for SRH," Badrinath said.

"The reason I'm saying this is because Khaleel Ahmed has done well in the powerplay. He's got a good left-arm advantage. T Natarajan is already there (at SRH) as well.

"Jack Edwards is a bowling all-rounder. Liam Livingstone is a finisher, but his track record isn't that good. He did not even play in the XI for SRH," he added.

Badrinath noted that bowling has already been a persistent problem for CSK, and letting go of two first-choice pacers—particularly an Indian left-arm quick like Khaleel who excels in the powerplay—leaves their attack significantly depleted.

"In fact, bowling has been a problem for CSK, and they let go of both bowlers. Particularly an Indian fast bowler. Indian fast bowlers are very rare. Khaleel is a left-armer, that's even rarer. Let's wait and see how this plays out. For me, it's a super trade for SRH, for CSK, it is 50-50," he remarked.

SRH have secured the survives of three fast bowlers in the ongoing trade window, having earlier brought in T Natarajan from Delhi Capitals (DC) in exchange for Zeeshan Ansari.