When the slam-bang T-20 came into the international arena, some naysayers predicted that it will bring an end to the art of bowling as the format was heavily loaded in favour of batsmen. However, the doomsday prediction turned out to be unfounded and misguided as several bowlers have made it big on the international stage courtesy of the shortest format. Incidentally, the bowling riches currently at the disposal of Team India owe a lot to the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In fact, it won’t be erroneous to argue that the cash-rich Indian T-20 League has been a breeding ground for skilful Indian bowlers over the years. Resultantly, with bowlers making merry along with the batsmen in the IPL, there have been some prolific run-scorers as well as wicket-taker as well. So, let us breeze through some of the Purple Cap holders, the honour reserved for leading wicket-takers of each season, in the IPL for the last five years.
Harshal Patel (2021)
The right-arm seamer and the current captain of the Haryana Team made several heads turn since his IPL debut in 2012 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Astonishingly in the last season, the Gujarat-born pacer took everyone’s breath away by scalping 32 wickets from 15 games while playing for the RCB. For the Herculean efforts, Patel was rightly given the Purple Cap in the last IPL season.
Kagiso Rabada (2020)
The South African has been a hot favourite among the IPL franchises for the bowling riches he brings to the table. Living up to the high expectations, Rabada capped off the Pandemic-hit season with 30 wickets from 17 games turning out for Delhi Capitals. Deservedly, he was awarded the Purple Cap for his stupendous efforts in the 2020 edition. Alternately, it won’t be an exaggeration to state that the turnaround of fortunes for the Delhi Team, lagging behind in the IPL for several years, can be to large extent attributed to the fiery Proteas pacer.
Imran Tahir (2019)
The South African spinner of Pakistan descent is not just well known for his wild celebrations after sending batsmen back to the pavilion but also for his googlies. Ending the spinners’ drought in the IPL, Imran Tahir playing for Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings grabbed 26 wickets from 17 outings in the 2019 season. Previously, a spinner to get such an honour was Pragyan Ojha in 2010, when the Odisha-born tweaker took 21 wickets from 16 games while playing for the now-defunct team Deccan Chargers.
Andrew Tye (2018)
The right-arm medium pacer from Australia ended the rain of Kumar in 2018 by becoming the highest wicket-taker of the IPL season. In the edition, the bowler renowned for knuckleball and possessing a lot of variety as a pacer took 24 wickets in 14 matches while playing for Kings XI Punjab. Presently, he plies his wares for the new IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (2017)
The Meerut-born pacer performed an encore in 2017 after being the top wicket-taker in the previous edition of the IPL. Post getting 23 wickets in 17 matches in 2016, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar ended the 2017 season with 26 scalps from 14 games. Eventually, the Sunrisers Hyderabad player became the first bowler in the IPL history to take purple caps in two successive seasons.
