The Indian Premier League is well known for the crackling performances by the players in the batting as well as in the bowling section. IPL awards the highest run scorer of the tournament with an Orange Cap while on the other side the leading wicket-taker across all the franchises is rewarded with the Purple Cap.
The Purple Cap is the honour given to the highest wicket-taking bowler of the tournament by IPL. The leading wicket-taker for the inaugural season of IPL was Sohail Tanvir who played 11 matches and took 22 wickets while playing with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. In 2008, Sohail Tanvir took 6 wickets in a single match which was also his best bowling figure in IPL.
RP Singh is the first Indian bowler to win the Purple Cap. He had won it in 2009, during the second season of IPL while playing with the IPL franchise representing the city Hyderabad which was earlier known as Deccan Chargers (SunRisers Hyderabad). He took 23 wickets in 16 games.
Pragyan Ojha is the only spinner to won the Purple Cap, that also in the third season. He also played for Deccan Chargers and took 21 wickets in 16 matches. West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the only two players who had won the Purple Cap twice.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won the Purple Cap in two consecutive season- 2016 and 2017, playing with SunRisers Hyderabad. In 2016, he took 23 wickets in 17 matches while in 2017, he played 14 matches and made 26 dismissals. Chennai Super Kings‘ Dwayne Bravo, on the other hand, took 32 wickets in 18 games in 2013 which is also the highest number of wickets taken by a player in a single season. In 2015, Bravo dismissed 26 players in 17 matches to win this prestigious reward.
Here, is the complete list of Purple Cap winners for each season in IPL from 2008-2018:
| Year | Player | Team | Innings | Wickets | Best figures (r/w) |
| 2008 | Sohail Tanvir | RR | 11 | 22 | 14/6 |
| 2009 | RP Singh | Deccan Chargers | 16 | 23 | 22/4 |
| 2010 | Pragyan Ojha | Deccan Chargers | 16 | 21 | 26/3 |
| 2011 | Lasith Malinga | MI | 16 | 28 | 13/5 |
| 2012 | Morne Morkel | Delhi Daredevils | 16 | 25 | 20/4 |
| 2013 | Dwayne Bravo | CSK | 18 | 32 | 42/4 |
| 2014 | Mohit Sharma | CSK | 16 | 23 | 14/4 |
| 2015 | Dwayne Bravo | CSK | 17 | 26 | 22/3 |
| 2016 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | SRH | 17 | 23 | 29/4 |
| 2017 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | SRH | 14 | 26 | 19/5 |
| 2018 | Andrew Tye | KXIP | 14 | 24 | 16/4 |
Kings XI Punjab bowler Andrew Tye was the winner of the Purple Cap during the last season of IPL. The Australian successfully dismissed 24 players while playing in 14 matches in IPL 2018. The 12th season of Indian Premier League will headstart from March 23 with the match between the defending champions, MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and the Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Indian Premier League: List of Orange Cap holders from each season in IPL
