IPL Purple Cap Winner, IPL Purple Cap 2026 Updated.

The Purple Cap is awarded to the highest run-scorer in a given IPL season and carries a cash prize of INR 10 lakhs for the winner, which is awarded at the end of the IPL finals along with other awards. Along with the Orange Cap for the highest run-scorer in the tournament, the Purple Cap is one of the individual accolades that a player strives to achieve throughout the season. Some of the greatest T20 players over the years have been Purple Cap winners, namely: Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Bravo, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to name a few. On the other hand, some of the most famous players have never won the Purple Cap, such as: Jasprit Bumrah, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The beginning of the purple cap

The inaugural winner of the Purple Cap in the 2008 debut season was Pakistan’s Sohail Taneer, who took 22 wickets for Rajasthan Royals, while Bhuvneshwar was the first player and is the only player to win the Purple Cap in back-to-back seasons, having played in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons for Hyderabad.

Multiple winners and consistent success

Only two other players have won the Purple Cap multiple times, Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel. And Harshal Patel has the distinction of winning the Purple Cap with two different teams – 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 by a Purple Cap winner when he took 32 wickets for DC in the 2021 season, while Kagiso Rabada is the only bowler to take 30 or more wickets in a season when he took 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals in the 2020 season. On the other hand, the record for taking the fewest wickets to win the Purple Cap in a season is held by Pragyan Ojha when he took 21 wickets for Deccan Chargers in 2010 and still claimed the Purple Cap.

Franchise trends and dominance

Among the teams, the Hyderabad-based franchise – Deccan Chargers/SunRisers Hyderabad have the most Purple Caps with 4. RP Singh (2009), Pragyan Ojha (2010) and then Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2016 and 2017, with Chennai Super Kings, who also played Sharma in 4-D02015 and Bravo in 4-D017. In 2014 and Imran Tahir in 2019. Delhi franchises – 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 the PRV courts in 2021. (2008) and Yuzvinder Chahal (2022), likewise the Punjab-based franchise – KXIP/PBKS – by Andrew Tye (2018) and Harshal Patel (2024). Gujarat Titans have also represented them twice with the current Purple Cap holder in Mohammad Shami (2023) and Prasad Krishna (2025). Mumbai Indians’ only Purple Cap win came in 2011 when Lasith Malinga topped the charts with 28 wickets.

Overseas vs Indian players

In the last 18 seasons, foreign players have won the Purple Cap 8 times, while Indians have won the title 10 times. The current holder of the Purple Cap is Prasad Krishna of Gujarat Titans who has taken 25 wickets in the IPL 2025 season.