Only one number in IPL bowling has been reached twice and never passed: 32 wickets in a season. Dwayne Bravo got there for Chennai Super Kings in 2013, across 18 matches. Harshal Patel matched it for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2021, three matches quicker. That ceiling has now held through eighteen editions, from 2008 to 2025. In that time, what a Purple Cap winner concedes per over has risen by more than a run.
The Purple Cap is the IPL's most honest individual prize. Runs can be padded against tired attacks in dead rubbers, but every wicket has to be taken. We rebuilt every season's race from ball-by-ball data: 278,205 deliveries, counting only dismissals credited to the bowler and leaving out Super Over wickets. This is the complete record: who won it, who pushed them, and what the eighteen winners tell us about how IPL bowling has changed.
The Purple Cap, Season by Season
The Founding Era, 2008–2012: Swing, Spin and Malinga
The first Purple Cap went to a left-arm seamer most Indian fans had barely heard of. In 2008 Sohail Tanvir took 22 wickets in 11 matches for Rajasthan Royals, at an economy of 6.46 and a strike rate of 11.2. His 6/14 against Chennai in Jaipur stood as the best figures in IPL history for over a decade. Rajasthan won the title, and Tanvir never played another IPL season.
In 2009 the tournament moved to South Africa, and the seam-friendly pitches suited left-arm swing again. RP Singh took 23 wickets for Deccan Chargers, who went on to lift the trophy. The season's most famous spell belonged to the runner-up, though: Anil Kumble took 5/5 at Newlands in the opening week. He finished with 21 wickets at an economy of 5.86.
In 2010 Pragyan Ojha became the first spinner to win the cap. He took 21 wickets for Deccan, which is still the lowest winning tally in the award's history. Four bowlers finished on 17, so the 2010 race was the most crowded at the top.
Then came Lasith Malinga in 2011. He took 28 wickets at an economy of 5.95 for Mumbai Indians, and no Purple Cap winner has conceded runs more slowly. His average was 13.39 and his best was 5/13. Malinga's sling-arm yorker turned the death overs from damage limitation into a place where bowlers took wickets.
In 2012 Morne Morkel won with 25 wickets for Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, edging Sunil Narine by one. Narine's 24 came at an economy of 5.48, and his Kolkata Knight Riders won their first title.
The Bravo Years, 2013–2017: Variation Takes Over
In 2013 the Purple Cap race had more depth than ever before. Bravo's 32 wickets came at a strike rate of 11.7. He had no single dominant spell (his best was 4/42) and simply took wickets match after match. Behind him, James Faulkner took 28 wickets for Rajasthan. That would have won the cap outright in thirteen of the eighteen seasons.
In 2014, played partly in the UAE, Mohit Sharma won with 23 wickets for Chennai. His economy of 8.40 was the first sign that a winner could be expensive and still come out on top. In 2015 Bravo became the first bowler to win the cap twice, with 26 wickets at a strike rate of 12.1.
Then Bhuvneshwar Kumar did what nobody has repeated: he won it in consecutive seasons. He took 23 wickets in 2016 as Sunrisers Hyderabad won the title, then 26 in 2017 at an average of 14.19, including 5/19. He won both by swinging the new ball both ways at 130-odd km/h, without relying on pace or mystery.
Specialists and Late Bloomers, 2018–2021
In 2018 Andrew Tye won with 24 wickets for Kings XI Punjab, now Punjab Kings, relying almost entirely on knuckle-balls and slower bouncers. In 2019 Imran Tahir won it at the age of 40 with 26 wickets for Chennai. He needed 17 matches. Kagiso Rabada took 25 in only 12 for Delhi before a back injury ended his season, the narrowest "what if" in the award's history.
Rabada made up for it in 2020. In the UAE bubble he took 30 wickets, ahead of Jasprit Bumrah (27) and Trent Boult (25). Bumrah's economy of 6.73 that season was better than any of the top five. Mumbai's two quicks shared 52 wickets on the way to the title.
In 2021 Harshal Patel had the most remarkable season of them all. He was 30, uncapped for India and largely unknown outside domestic cricket. He opened with 5/27 against Mumbai and finished with 32 wickets at a strike rate of 10.6, the best of any Purple Cap winner. Along the way he took a hat-trick against Mumbai in Dubai. He won by eight wickets, the biggest margin ever. Avesh Khan was next with 24.
The Impact Era, 2022–2025: Winning While Expensive
In 2022 Yuzvendra Chahal won with 27 wickets for Rajasthan, including a hat-trick in a 5/40 against Kolkata. He finished one ahead of Wanindu Hasaranga (26).
In 2023 Gujarat Titans took the top three places. Mohammed Shami won with 28 wickets, and Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma had 27 each. Mohit's 27 came at a strike rate of 9.8, a wicket every ten balls, including 5/10 in Qualifier 2.
In 2024 Harshal Patel won it again, this time for Punjab Kings. That made him the third two-time winner and the only one to win for two franchises. His 24 wickets came at an economy of 9.73, the most expensive winning season on record. It was the season of 250-plus totals. Varun Chakaravarthy took 21 for title-winning Kolkata, and Bumrah took 20 at an economy of 6.48.
In 2025 Prasidh Krishna won with 25 wickets for Gujarat, one ahead of Noor Ahmad (24). Josh Hazlewood took 22 in only 12 matches for the champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The Data: Every Winner, Every Runner-Up
Table 1: Purple Cap Winners, 2008–2025
| Season | Winner | Team | Wkts | Econ | Avg | SR | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sohail Tanvir | RR | 22 | 6.46 | 12.09 | 11.2 | 6/14 |
| 2009 | RP Singh | Deccan Chargers | 23 | 6.99 | 18.13 | 15.6 | 4/22 |
| 2010 | Pragyan Ojha | Deccan Chargers | 21 | 7.29 | 20.43 | 16.8 | 3/26 |
| 2011 | Lasith Malinga | MI | 28 | 5.95 | 13.39 | 13.5 | 5/13 |
| 2012 | Morne Morkel | DD | 25 | 7.19 | 18.12 | 15.1 | 4/20 |
| 2013 | Dwayne Bravo | CSK | 32 | 7.95 | 15.53 | 11.7 | 4/42 |
| 2014 | Mohit Sharma | CSK | 23 | 8.40 | 19.65 | 14.0 | 4/14 |
| 2015 | Dwayne Bravo | CSK | 26 | 8.14 | 16.38 | 12.1 | 3/22 |
| 2016 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | SRH | 23 | 7.42 | 21.30 | 17.2 | 4/29 |
| 2017 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | SRH | 26 | 7.05 | 14.19 | 12.1 | 5/19 |
| 2018 | Andrew Tye | KXIP | 24 | 8.00 | 18.67 | 14.0 | 4/16 |
| 2019 | Imran Tahir | CSK | 26 | 6.70 | 16.58 | 14.8 | 4/12 |
| 2020 | Kagiso Rabada | DC | 30 | 8.31 | 18.23 | 13.2 | 4/24 |
| 2021 | Harshal Patel | RCB | 32 | 8.15 | 14.34 | 10.6 | 5/27 |
| 2022 | Yuzvendra Chahal | RR | 27 | 7.75 | 19.52 | 15.1 | 5/40 |
| 2023 | Mohammed Shami | GT | 28 | 7.99 | 18.61 | 14.0 | 4/11 |
| 2024 | Harshal Patel | PBKS | 24 | 9.73 | 19.88 | 12.3 | 3/15 |
| 2025 | Prasidh Krishna | GT | 25 | 8.27 | 19.52 | 14.2 | 4/41 |
Table 2: The Closest Races and the Runners-Up
| Season | Winner (Wkts) | Runner-up (Wkts) | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Morne Morkel (25) | Sunil Narine (24) | 1 |
| 2019 | Imran Tahir (26) | Kagiso Rabada (25) | 1 |
| 2022 | Yuzvendra Chahal (27) | Wanindu Hasaranga (26) | 1 |
| 2023 | Mohammed Shami (28) | Rashid Khan / Mohit Sharma (27) | 1 |
| 2025 | Prasidh Krishna (25) | Noor Ahmad (24) | 1 |
| 2013 | Dwayne Bravo (32) | James Faulkner (28) | 4 |
| 2011 | Lasith Malinga (28) | Munaf Patel (22) | 6 |
| 2021 | Harshal Patel (32) | Avesh Khan (24) | 8 |
Five of the eighteen races were decided by a single wicket. Three of those five came in the last four seasons, which suggests the Impact Player era has spread wickets across deeper bowling attacks.
Table 3: The Economy Drift
| Era | Seasons | Avg winning economy | Avg winning wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founding | 2008–2015 | 7.30 | 25.0 |
| Middle | 2016–2021 | 7.61 | 26.8 |
| Impact | 2022–2025 | 8.44 | 26.0 |
The winning tally has barely moved. Across all eighteen seasons it averages 25.8 wickets, and every winner falls between 21 and 32. But the price of those wickets has risen by more than a run an over. In the IPL's first eight seasons a Purple Cap winner conceded 7.30 an over. In the four seasons from 2022 to 2025 it was 8.44. Harshal's 9.73 in 2024 would once have got a bowler dropped. Instead it won the cap.
What the Eighteen Winners Tell Us
Pace has dominated. Fifteen of the eighteen caps went to seamers. Only three spinners have won: Ojha in 2010, Tahir in 2019 and Chahal in 2022. That is surprising, because spinners concede less. Seamers bowl in the powerplay and at the death, when batters take the most risks, and those are the overs that bring wickets.
The split is close to even. Indian bowlers have won ten caps and overseas bowlers eight. Fifteen different players have won it. Only Bravo, Bhuvneshwar and Harshal have won twice, and nobody has won three.
It rarely comes with a title. The Purple Cap winner's team reached the final in nine of eighteen seasons but won it only three times: Rajasthan in 2008, Deccan in 2009 and Sunrisers in 2016. Chennai lost three finals with the Purple Cap holder in their side (2013, 2015 and 2019). One explanation is that a team with a single dominant wicket-taker may be relying on him too much.
It can be won in few matches. Tanvir needed 11. Rabada nearly won it in 12 in 2019, and Hazlewood took 22 in 12 in 2025. The cap is a count, not a rate, so an injury can cost a bowler the prize as easily as a bad run of form.
Legacy Impact: What This Means for the IPL Today
More active players have Purple Cap pedigree now than at any point in the competition's history. Bumrah has never won the cap but has finished in the top five four times (2017, 2020, 2021 and 2024). In 2020 and 2024 his economy was the best of anyone in the top five. Chahal remains the only bowler past 200 IPL wickets in our 2008–2025 dataset. Rabada, Shami, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal and Prasidh are all past winners named in IPL 2026 squads. The current race is tracked on our live IPL 2026 Purple Cap table.
The economy drift should change how fans read the leaderboard. In 2011, a bowler conceding 8.5 an over was a liability. By 2024 that was the going rate for an elite death bowler. When you compare a modern wicket-taker with Malinga or Kumble, compare strike rates first and economy rates only within the same era.
That is also how CricMind's Oracle treats bowling. When the model rates a side's chances, it weighs wicket-taking threat by phase rather than raw economy, because the 2022–2025 data shows wickets have kept their value while runs have become cheaper. A team with two bowlers striking every 13 balls changes the projection more than one bowler going at 7.
For the batting side of the same history, see our Orange Cap winners for every season. For the single spells that shaped these races, see the greatest bowling spells in IPL history.
Three Takeaways
- The 32-wicket ceiling has held since 2013. Bravo set it and Harshal equalled it in 2021. No bowler has gone past it, even though the IPL has had 74-match seasons since 2022.
- Wickets cost more, but the number needed has not changed. A winner still needs about 26 wickets. What has changed is the economy rate, up from 7.30 to 8.44 between the founding era and 2022–2025.
- The Purple Cap rarely comes with the trophy. Its holder has won the title only three times in eighteen seasons, and the most recent was 2016.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has won the most Purple Caps in IPL history?
Three bowlers have won it twice: Dwayne Bravo (2013, 2015), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2016, 2017) and Harshal Patel (2021, 2024). No bowler has won three. Bhuvneshwar is the only one to win in consecutive seasons, and Harshal is the only one to win for two franchises.
What is the record for most wickets in a single IPL season?
The record is 32 wickets, shared by Dwayne Bravo (CSK, 2013, 18 matches) and Harshal Patel (RCB, 2021, 15 matches). Harshal's strike rate of 10.6 balls per wicket that season is the best of any Purple Cap winner.
Who won the first IPL Purple Cap?
Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir won it in 2008 with 22 wickets for Rajasthan Royals, in 11 matches at an economy of 6.46. His 6/14 against Chennai Super Kings was the best figures in IPL history for more than a decade.
Has a spinner ever won the Purple Cap?
Three times: Pragyan Ojha (Deccan Chargers, 2010, 21 wickets), Imran Tahir (CSK, 2019, 26 wickets, aged 40) and Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals, 2022, 27 wickets). Seamers have won the other fifteen.
What is the lowest wicket tally to win the Purple Cap?
Pragyan Ojha's 21 wickets in 2010 is the lowest. That season was the closest race at the top, with four bowlers tied on 17 behind him.
Which Purple Cap winner had the best economy rate?
Lasith Malinga in 2011: 28 wickets at 5.95 runs per over for Mumbai Indians. The most expensive winning season was Harshal Patel's 2024 (9.73 an over), which shows how much IPL scoring rose over those thirteen years.
How often does the Purple Cap winner's team win the IPL?
Only three times in eighteen seasons: Rajasthan Royals in 2008, Deccan Chargers in 2009 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. The holder's team reached the final nine times.
Method: wickets credited to the bowler only (run-outs, retirements and obstructing the field excluded); Super Over deliveries excluded; runs conceded exclude byes and leg-byes. Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball data, IPL 2008–2025.