Since the beginning of the Indian Premier League in 2008, there have been some great bowling performances over the years during the tournament. The Purple Cap is an award given to the bowler who takes the most wickets at the end of the tournament; it keeps changing hands among bowlers during the matches. This is the biggest award for any bowler in the high profile tournament because it recognizes consistency and wicket taking ability, the most important aspect of the game in the T20 format.
Just as the IPL Orange Cap is awarded to the top batsmen, the Purple Cap is also a contest between bowlers trying to seize this prestigious honour. At the time of the IPL 2024 Final, the Purple Cap was won by Harshal Patel, who had the most number of wickets, 24 in 14 matches. He was closely followed by KKR’s spinner Varun Chakravarthy and MI’s pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who took 24 and 21 wickets respectively.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Consecutive Triumphs
Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir was the first bowler to win the Purple Cap in 2008. That season, he took 22 wickets in 11 matches for Rajasthan Royals. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only bowler on the list of Purple Cap winners to have won it back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
With 32 wickets, Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel hold the record for taking the most wickets in a single IPL season. RP Singh became the first Indian cricketer to win the award in 2009 while playing for Deccan Chargers (now no longer in existence).
In last year’s IPL, Gujarat Titans pacer Mohammed Shami won the honor, taking 28 wickets in the season at an average of 17 and an economy of seven in 16 matches. However, with Shami recovering from an ankle injury after surgery, IPL 2024 will see a new Purple Cap winner. It has been confirmed that the fast bowler is ruled out of the upcoming season and the T20 World Cup. It will be interesting to see if a spinner can outshine the pacers and claim the Purple Cap this time.
IPL Purple Cap Winners (2008-2024)
Year | Player | Team | Wickets | Matches |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Sohail Tanvir | Rajasthan Royals | 22 | 11 |
2009 | RP Singh | Deccan Chargers | 23 | 16 |
2010 | Pragyan Ojha | Deccan Chargers | 21 | 16 |
2011 | Lasith Malinga | Mumbai Indians | 28 | 16 |
2012 | Morne Morkel | Delhi Capitals | 25 | 16 |
2013 | Dwayne Bravo | Chennai Super Kings | 32 | 18 |
2014 | Mohit Sharma | Chennai Super Kings | 23 | 16 |
2015 | Dwayne Bravo | Chennai Super Kings | 26 | 16 |
2016 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 23 | 17 |
2017 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 26 | 14 |
2018 | Andrew Tye | Kings XI Punjab | 24 | 14 |
2019 | Imran Tahir | Chennai Super Kings | 26 | 17 |
2020 | Kagiso Rabada | Delhi Capitals | 30 | 17 |
2021 | Harshal Patel | Royal Challengers | 32 | 15 |
2022 | Yuzvendra Chahal | Rajasthan Royals | 27 | 17 |
2023 | Mohammed Shami | Gujarat Titans | 28 | 17 |
2024 | Harshal Patel | Punjab Kings | 24 | 14 |