If you follow the Indian Premier League, you already know that batters get a lot of the attention. Big sixes, fast fifties, and record-breaking centuries fill up the highlight reels. But there is another award that belongs only to the bowlers, and it is just as special. It is called the Purple Cap, and it goes to the bowler who takes the most wickets in a single IPL season.
In this blog, we will look at the full list of Purple Cap winners from the very first IPL season in 2008 all the way to 2026. We will also talk about what the Purple Cap really means, which bowlers have won it more than once, and a few fun facts along the way. No difficult words, just simple cricket talk.
What Is the Purple Cap?
Before we jump into the list, let’s understand the basics. The IPL gives out two special caps every season. One is the Orange Cap, given to the batter who scores the most runs. The other is the Purple Cap, given to the bowler who picks up the most wickets.
The player who is leading in wickets during the tournament actually wears a purple-colored cap while fielding, so everyone watching can instantly tell who is on top of the wicket-taking charts. This cap keeps changing hands as the tournament moves forward. Whoever has the most wickets at the end of the final match is crowned the official Purple Cap winner for that season.
It is a big deal for bowlers because taking wickets in T20 cricket is genuinely hard work. Batters come out swinging from ball one, grounds are often small, and pitches are usually built to help batters. So any bowler who manages to pick up the most wickets over an entire season deserves real credit.
The Full List of IPL Purple Cap Winners (2008 to 2026)
Here is the complete list, season by season, along with the wickets each bowler took.
- 2008 – Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals) – 22 wickets
- 2009 – RP Singh (Deccan Chargers) – 23 wickets
- 2010 – Pragyan Ojha (Deccan Chargers) – 21 wickets
- 2011 – Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians) – 28 wickets
- 2012 – Morne Morkel (Delhi Daredevils) – 25 wickets
- 2013 – Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings) – 32 wickets
- 2014 – Mohit Sharma (Chennai Super Kings) – 23 wickets
- 2015 – Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings) – 26 wickets
- 2016 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – 23 wickets
- 2017 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – 26 wickets
- 2018 – Andrew Tye (Kings XI Punjab) – 24 wickets
- 2019 – Imran Tahir (Chennai Super Kings) – 26 wickets
- 2020 – Kagiso Rabada (Delhi Capitals) – 30 wickets
- 2021 – Harshal Patel (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 32 wickets
- 2022 – Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals) – 27 wickets
- 2023 – Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans) – 28 wickets
- 2024 – Harshal Patel (Punjab Kings) – 24 wickets
- 2025 – Prasidh Krishna (Gujarat Titans) – 25 wickets
- 2026 – Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans) – 29 wickets
That is nineteen seasons, nineteen champion bowlers, and a lot of great cricket memories packed into one list.
The Story Behind the List
Let’s slow down a bit and talk about how this list actually took shape, season after season.
The very first Purple Cap in IPL history went to Sohail Tanvir of Rajasthan Royals in 2008. He took 22 wickets that year and even helped his team win the first-ever IPL title. His best bowling figures that season, 6 wickets for just 14 runs against Chennai Super Kings, remained the best bowling performance in IPL history for more than ten years.
The next two years belonged to Deccan Chargers, a team that no longer exists in the IPL today. RP Singh won the cap in 2009, becoming the first Indian bowler to do so, and his teammate Pragyan Ojha followed it up in 2010.
Then came Lasith Malinga in 2011. The Sri Lankan pace bowler was known for his unusual bowling action and deadly yorkers, and he picked up 28 wickets that season, which was a new record at the time.
In 2013, the record was broken again, and in a big way. Dwayne Bravo of Chennai Super Kings took 32 wickets in just 18 matches. That number has never been beaten since, though it has been matched once. Bravo went on to win the Purple Cap again in 2015, making him one of the most successful bowlers in IPL history.
Between 2016 and 2017, Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the only bowler to win the Purple Cap in back-to-back seasons. His swing bowling with the new ball made him extremely difficult to face in the powerplay overs, and he proved it two years in a row for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Andrew Tye had a breakout season in 2018, taking 24 wickets for Kings XI Punjab, while Imran Tahir’s leg-spin bowling earned him the cap in 2019 with Chennai Super Kings.
Then in 2020, Kagiso Rabada of South Africa took the cap with 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals, showing why he is considered one of the best fast bowlers in the world.
The year 2021 gave us another record-equaling performance. Harshal Patel picked up 32 wickets for Royal Challengers Bangalore, matching Dwayne Bravo’s long-standing record from 2013. Harshal proved this was no fluke by winning the cap again in 2024, this time playing for Punjab Kings.
In between, Yuzvendra Chahal won it in 2022 with his tricky leg-spin for Rajasthan Royals, and Mohammed Shami had a fantastic 2023 season for Gujarat Titans, taking 28 wickets.
In 2025, Prasidh Krishna picked up 25 wickets for Gujarat Titans to claim the cap. And most recently, in 2026, Kagiso Rabada won his second Purple Cap, this time for Gujarat Titans, with 29 wickets in 17 matches. This made him one of only four bowlers in IPL history to win the award more than once.
Bowlers Who Have Won the Purple Cap More Than Once
Winning the Purple Cap even once is a huge achievement. But a small group of bowlers have managed to do it twice. Here they are:
- Dwayne Bravo – won in 2013 and 2015
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar – won in 2016 and 2017
- Harshal Patel – won in 2021 and 2024
- Kagiso Rabada – won in 2020 and 2026
Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains special on this list because he is the only bowler to win it in two seasons that came right after each other, in 2016 and 2017. The others won their two caps with a gap of a few years in between.
Interesting Facts About the Purple Cap
Here are a few fun details that make this list even more interesting:
- Highest wickets in a single season: Two bowlers share this record. Dwayne Bravo took 32 wickets in 2013, and Harshal Patel matched that number in 2021.
- First bowler to win it: Sohail Tanvir, all the way back in 2008, when the IPL itself was brand new.
- Most successful team for Purple Cap winners: Chennai Super Kings bowlers have won the cap multiple times, through Dwayne Bravo (twice) and Imran Tahir.
- A mix of pace and spin: The list is a nice balance of fast bowlers like Malinga, Rabada, and Shami, along with spinners like Ojha, Chahal, and Tahir. This shows that both bowling styles can succeed in the IPL if used well.
- International bowlers dominate the list: Out of all the winners, a good number have been overseas players, showing how much foreign talent has shaped the tournament since it began.
Why the Purple Cap Matters
Some people think T20 cricket is only about batting, but the Purple Cap list proves that is not true. Every single year, there has been at least one bowler who found a way to control the game, outsmart the batters, and finish the season on top of the wicket charts. Whether it’s clever variations, raw pace, sharp yorkers, or spin that confuses batters, these bowlers remind us that bowling still wins matches in the IPL.
For fans, the race for the Purple Cap adds another exciting storyline to follow throughout the season, alongside the race for the Orange Cap and the fight for a place in the playoffs. It gives bowlers, who often don’t get as much praise as batters, a moment to shine and be remembered.
Final Thoughts
The IPL Purple Cap winners list is more than just a set of names and numbers. It tells the story of how bowling has evolved in T20 cricket over the years, from Sohail Tanvir’s record-breaking figures in 2008 to Kagiso Rabada’s brilliant season in 2026. Each name on this list represents a bowler who rose to the challenge, season after season, in a format that is often called a batter’s game.
As the IPL continues to grow every year, this list will keep getting longer, and new bowlers will keep getting their chance to wear the famous purple cap. Until then, this list stands as a proper tribute to the wicket-takers who make IPL cricket complete.
