IPL Purple Cap 2026

The Purple Cap is awarded to the players with the most runs in a particular IPL season and carries a cash reward of INR 10 Lakh for the winner, given at the conclusion of the IPL final alongside other awards. Alongside the Orange Cap, awarded for the highest run-getter of the tournament, Purple Cap is one of the sought after individual accolades a player strives to achieve throughout the season. Over the years some of the greatest players to have played T20s have been the winners of the Purple Cap, namely: Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Bravo, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to name a few. On the other hand, some of the most iconic players have never won the Purple Cap, namely: Jasprit Bumrah, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Ravichandran Aswhin to name a few.

Beginnings of the Purple Cap

The inaugural winner of the Purple Cap in the debut season of 2008 was Pakistan’s Sohail Tanir, scalping 22 wickets for Rajasthan Royals, while Bhuvneshwar was the first player and remains the only player to win the Purple Cap in back-to-back seasons, in 2016 and 2017, while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in both seasons.

Multiple winners and sustained success

Only two other players have been winners of the Purple Cap multiple times, Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel. And Harshal Patel holds the distinction for winning the Purple Cap with two different teams - with Delhi Capitals in 2021 and Punjab Kings in 2024.

Records and statistical extremes

Harshal Patel also holds the record for most wickets in a single season among the Purple Cap winners when he picked 32 wickets in the 2021 season for DC, while Kagiso Rabada is the only other bowler to pick 30 or more wickets in a season, when he tallied 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals in the 2020 season. On the other hand, the record for least number of wickets taken to win the Purple Cap in a season belongs to Pragyan Ojha when he picked 21 wickets for Deccan Chargers in 2010 and still claimed the Purple Cap.

Franchise trends and dominance

Among the teams, Hyderabad-based franchise - Deccan Chargers/Sunrisers Hyderabad have the most Purple Caps to their name with 4. RP Singh (2009), Pragyan Ojha (2010) and then Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2016 and 2017, alongside Chennai Super Kings who also have 4 - Dwayne Bravo in 2013 and 2015, Mohit Sharma in 2014 and Imran Tahir in 2019. Delhi franchise - Delhi Daredevils and Delhi Capitals- have claimed the Purple Cap thrice with Morne Morkel winning it in 2012 followed by Kagiso Rabada and Harshal Patel in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021. RR have won the Purple Cap twice courtesy Sohail Tanvir (2008) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2022), so has Punjab based franchise - KXIP/PBKS - via Andrew Tye (2018) and Harshal Patel (2024). Gujarat Titans too have their representation twice with Mohammad Shami (2023) and the current Purple Cap holder in Prasidh Krishna (2025). Mumbai Indians’ lone Purple Cap win came in 2011 when Lasith Malinga topped the charts with 28 wickets.

Overseas vs Indian players

In the 18 seasons gone by, overseas players have won the Purple Cap 8 times, while Indian players have claimed the title 10 times. The current holder of the Purple Cap is Gujarat Titans’ Prasidh Krishna who picked 25 wickets in the IPL 2025 season.