The Purple Cap is an award given to the leading wicket-taker in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The highest wicket-taker in the tournament during the season wears the Purple Cap when fielding, with the overall leading wicket-taker at the conclusion of the tournament winning the actual Purple Cap award on the day of the season’s final.
Gone are the days when the result of a match depended only on the performance of the batsmen. Today bowlers have an equally important role to play. The Purple Cap is awarded to the highest wicket taker in IPL every year.
There have been several editions so far and each edition has a Purple Cap winner.
Sohail Tanvir – 2008
The inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was the only season that also featured Pakistani players. Later from 2009, Pakistani players were not allowed to participate in the IPL.
Sohail Tanvir picked up 22 wickets from 11 matches and went home with the Purple Cap as he was the leading wicket-taker of that season.
| Season | 2008 |
| Team | Rajasthan Royals |
| Matches | 11 |
| Overs | 41.1 |
| Runs | 266 |
| Wickets | 22 |
| Average | 12.09 |
| Economy | 6.46 |
| Strike Rate | 11.22 |
| Best Bowling | 6/14 |
RP Singh – 2009
RP Singh, who was the first Indian to win the Purple Cap, took 23 wickets from 16 matches in IPL 2009 and helped Deccan Chargers win the title. He also took four wickets haul.
| Season | 2009 |
| Team | Deccan Chargers |
| Matches | 16 |
| Overs | 59.4 |
| Runs | 417 |
| Wickets | 23 |
| Average | 18.13 |
| Economy | 6.98 |
| Strike Rate | 15.56 |
| Best Bowling | 4/22 |
Pragyan Ojha – 2010
Pragyan Ojha’s powerful performance for Deccan Chargers in IPL 2010 brought him into limelight. He became the first spinner to win the Purple Cap after taking 21 wickets in 16 matches.
| Season | 2010 |
| Team | Deccan Chargers |
| Matches | 16 |
| Overs | 58.5 |
| Runs | 429 |
| Wickets | 21 |
| Average | 20.42 |
| Economy | 7.29 |
| Strike Rate | 16.80 |
| Best Bowling | 3/26 |
Lasith Malinga – 2011
Lasith Malinga created history in IPL 2011 with 28 wickets in 16 matches – the most wickets by any bowler in a single season of the tournament. Malinga also took his first five-wicket haul for the IPL in the 2011 campaign.
| Season | 2011 |
| Team | Mumbai Indians |
| Matches | 16 |
| Overs | 63 |
| Runs | 375 |
| Wickets | 28 |
| Average | 13.39 |
| Economy | 5.95 |
| Strike Rate | 13.50 |
| Best Bowling | 5/13 |
Morne Morkel – 2012
Delhi Daredevils South African pacer Morne Morkel took home the Purple Cap in 2012. Morkel took 25 wickets in 16 matches.
| Season | 2012 |
| Team | Delhi Daredevils |
| Matches | 16 |
| Overs | 63 |
| Runs | 453 |
| Wickets | 25 |
| Average | 18.12 |
| Economy | 7.19 |
| Strike Rate | 15.12 |
| Best Bowling | 4/20 |
Dwayne Bravo – 2013
Dwayne Bravo became the first bowler to take 30+ wickets in a single edition. His dedication towards practice made his form consistent in the sixth edition of the league. He achieved the remarkable feat of taking 32 wickets in just 18 games.
| Season | 2013 |
| Team | Chennai Super Kings |
| Matches | 18 |
| Overs | 62.3 |
| Runs | 497 |
| Wickets | 32 |
| Average | 15.53 |
| Economy | 7.95 |
| Strike Rate | 11.71 |
| Best Bowling | 4/42 |
Mohit Sharma – 2014
The following year, in 2014, it was once again the CSK bowler who got the Purple Cap – Mohit Sharma. The fast bowler took 4 for 14 with 23 wickets in 16 matches.
| Season | 2014 |
| Team | Chennai Super Kings |
| Matches | 16 |
| Overs | 53.5 |
| Runs | 452 |
| Wickets | 23 |
| Average | 19.65 |
| Economy | 8.39 |
| Strike Rate | 14.04 |
| Best Bowling | 4/14 |
Dwayne Bravo – 2015
Dwayne Bravo won the Purple Cap for the second time in 2015. He took 26 wickets in 16 matches. Bravo’s best spell came against KKR when he took 3 wickets for just 22 runs. However, CSK could not win the title in 2015.
| Season | 2015 |
| Team | Chennai Super Kings |
| Matches | 16 |
| Overs | 52.2 |
| Runs | 426 |
| Wickets | 26 |
| Average | 16.38 |
| Economy | 8.14 |
| Strike Rate | 12.07 |
| Best Bowling | 3/22 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 2016
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who won the Purple Cap in IPL 2016, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) win their maiden IPL title. The fast bowler took 23 wickets in 17 innings.
| Season | 2016 |
| Team | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Matches | 17 |
| Overs | 66 |
| Runs | 490 |
| Wickets | 23 |
| Average | 21.30 |
| Economy | 7.42 |
| Strike Rate | 17.21 |
| Best Bowling | 4/29 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 2017
Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the Purple Cap for the second time in the 2017 edition. He became the first player to retain the cap for two consecutive seasons. He took 26 wickets from 14 Matches in the tenth edition of IPL.
| Season | 2017 |
| Team | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Matches | 14 |
| Overs | 52.2 |
| Runs | 369 |
| Wickets | 26 |
| Average | 14.19 |
| Economy | 7.05 |
| Strike Rate | 12.07 |
| Best Bowling | 5/19 |
Andrew Tye – 2018
Andrew Tye of Kings XI Punjab took 24 wickets in his 14 matches to win the Purple Cap at the end of the season.
| Season | 2018 |
| Team | Kings XI Punjab |
| Matches | 14 |
| Overs | 56 |
| Runs | 448 |
| Wickets | 24 |
| Average | 18.66 |
| Economy | 8.00 |
| Strike Rate | 14.00 |
| Best Bowling | 4/16 |
Imran Tahir – 2019
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir bagged the Purple Cap during last year’s edition and managed to lead CSK to the 2019 league final. Tahir took 26 wickets from 17 matches in this edition with a fair economy of 6.69.
| Season | 2019 |
| Team | Chennai Super Kings |
| Matches | 17 |
| Overs | 64.2 |
| Runs | 431 |
| Wickets | 26 |
| Average | 16.57 |
| Economy | 6.69 |
| Strike Rate | 14.84 |
| Best Bowling | 4/12 |
Kagiso Rabada – 2020
Delhi Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada won the Purple Cap as he played a key role in helping his team qualify for their maiden IPL final. Unfortunately, Delhi lost the game to MI. Rabada finished IPL 2020 with 30 wickets in 17 matches.
| Season | 2020 |
| Team | Delhi Capitals |
| Matches | 17 |
| Overs | 65.4 |
| Runs | 548 |
| Wickets | 30 |
| Average | 18.26 |
| Economy | 8.34 |
| Strike Rate | 13.13 |
| Best Bowling | 4/24 |
Harshal Patel – 2021
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Harshal Patel, who won the Purple Cap in 2021, equaled Bravo’s record of 32 wickets form 15 innings in an IPL season.
| Season | 2021 |
| Team | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| Matches | 15 |
| Overs | 56.2 |
| Runs | 459 |
| Wickets | 32 |
| Average | 14.34 |
| Economy | 8.14 |
| Strike Rate | 10.56 |
| Best Bowling | 5/27 |
Yuzvendra Chahal – 2022
Rajasthan Royal (RR) spiner yuzvendra chahal won the Purple Cap in 2022 for 27 wickets form 17 innings in an IPL season.
| Season | 2022 |
| Team | Rajasthan Royal |
| Matches | 17 |
| Overs | 68 |
| Runs | 527 |
| Wickets | 27 |
| Average | 19.51 |
| Economy | 7.75 |
| Strike Rate | 15.11 |
| Best Bowling | 5/40 |
Mohammad Shami – 2023
Gujrat Titans (GT) Mohammad Shami won the Purple Cap in 2023 for 28 wickets form 17 innings in an IPL season.
| Season | 2023 |
| Team | Gujarat Titans |
| Matches | 17 |
| Overs | 65 |
| Runs | 522 |
| Wickets | 28 |
| Average | 18.64 |
| Economy | 8.03 |
| Strike Rate | 13.92 |
| Best Bowling | 4/11 |
