With the boundaries becoming shorter and bats heavier. Many wonder if the game has become biased towards the batsman. But there are few bowlers who refuse to believe that and go on a wicket-taking spree. The purple cap is one such award that credits the bowlers for their effort and with many talents all taking part from all over the world. Winning the cap does require the best out of them.
While we saw the orange cap was dominated by the Australians. The purple is completely opposite with the Indian player winning it on 5 occasions and Bhuvneshwar Kumar being the most successful winning it two times.
With the IPL all set to begin in a few weeks in UAE this time amid the pandemic situation in India still continuing. Cricwizz takes a look at the 5 players who could potentially be contenders for the purple cap this season.
1) Pat Cummins
The Australian was all over the headlines when he broke the record for the most expensive foreign player. He was bagged by Kolkata Knight Rider for a whopping 15.5 crs in 2019 auctions and will be taking up the pace attack division for the Riders.
Much will be expected from the 27-year old who is the form of his life. He has been climbing the rankings from the last few years and he will surely look to continue that form in the upcoming season,
Cummins has not played many IPL matches mainly due to his injury and international duties but is expected to play the whole tournament this time around. He has played 16 matches in the IPL and claimed 17 wickets at a strike-rate of 21.24 and economy of 8.
2) Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The bowling backbone of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been undoubtedly the best Indian fast bowler in the league till date with 133 wickets to his name. He is the 6th highest wicket-taker in the league. The 30-year old is vastly experienced. He had a relatively quiet season in 2019 with 13 wickets and will surely look to better that performance given his potential.
Bhuvenshwar has played 117 matches in the IPL and claimed 133 wickets at a strike-rate of 19.64 and economy of 7. His economy of 7 is one of the best for fast bowlers in the league. His best seasons were in the year 2016 and 2017 where he claimed 23 and 26 wickets respectively to win the purple cap.
3) Rashid Khan
The one of only two Afghanistan players to play the tournament. The star leggie makes it to the list solely on his amazing economy which can put the top batsmen in the game under pressure. The Spinner was quiet in the last season with 17 wickets but maintained a remarkable economy. He is back from a finger injury and will be looking to better his wicket tally along with the economy in this season.
Rashid Khan has played 46 matches in the IPL taking 55 wickets at a strike-rate of 19.85 and incredible economy of 6.55. His strike-rate of 6.55 is the best in the league with the second best being Sunil Narine’s 6.67.
4) Dwayne Bravo
The 5th highest wicket-taker in the IPL, Dwayne Bravo has one of the best slow deliveries in the game and his execution is of top notch. He has been a regular ever since the beginning of IPL and is the backbone of the Chennai Super Kings. The all-rounder is expected to play all the whole tournament this time and given that he could well again end up with the purple cap.
The 36-year old has played 134 matches in the IPL and bagged 147 wickets(which places him 5th on the list of highest wicket-takers) at a strike-rate of 17.59. He also holds the record for the bowler with most wickets in a single season with 32 wickets in the 2013 season.
Bravo’s best seasons came in the 2013 and 2015 season where he claimed 32 and 26 wickets respectively to win the purple cap.
5) Deepak Chahar
The CSK lad clearly showed the world what he was capable of under proper guidance in the last season. He finished the season with 22 wickets, just 4 wickets behind his team-mate Imran Tahir- the 2019 purple cap winner. He is definitely capable of doing that again and going on to better that time and win the purple cap.
The 28-year old has played 34 matches in the IPL and claimed 33 wickets at a strike-rate of 20 and economy of 7.63. He has the best figures of 3/15 to his name.
Cover Credits: IPLT20
