IPL 2018: 4 interesting facts about the Purple Cap

On May 12, 2008, Indian Premier League introduced the concept of ‘Purple Cap.’ The player with the most number of wickets to his name on each day of the season will enter the field by wearing the designated cap. The overall leading wicket-taker at the end of the tournament will receive the actual ‘Purple Cap’ on the day of final. In case of a tie, the bowler with superior economy rate would hold the purple cap.

“We have seen over the course of the inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League so far that bowlers have just as important a role to play in winning T20 matches as batsmen do. DLF IPL has created a distinction for the highest wicket-taking bowler in the 'Purple Cap'. The purpose of this initiative is to continue to be innovative, create a further unique piece of history that sets the DLF Indian Premier League apart from the crowd, and to acknowledge outstanding performance by the bowlers" - The then IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said on the initiative

Andrew Tye is presently leading the bowler’s chart in this season with 20 scalps in 11 games. Let us look at some of the interesting facts about the cap.

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#1 Different players to win the award

Ojha went unsold in the 2018 IPL auction

So far, only eight different players had received the ‘Purple Cap’ award in the history of the competition. Dwayne Bravo and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were the only players to win this award twice. Among the eight, four players were Indians. Sohail Tanvir was the only Pakistan player to win this award. Pragyan Ojha of India remains the only spinner to win the purple cap. Surprisingly, Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders has not won the award yet.

#2 Numbers game

Bravo took 32 wickets in the sixth season of IPL

Dwayne Bravo of Chennai Super Kings won the purple cap by clinching 32 scalps in the 2013 season. In contrast, Pragyan Ojha of Deccan Chargers won the award with just 21 wickets in the third season.

Among the current teams, CSK players have won the award for the most number of times (thrice). Sunrisers Hyderabad players have won the award twice. Barring Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders players, rest of the teams have won the award at least once.

#3 Retaining the cap

Bhuvi was the only player to retain the purple cap

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the first and the last player to retain the cap successfully. In the 2016 season, the Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer took 23 wickets from 17 matches. Bhuvi developed his death-bowling skills in that particular season.

He carried his good form into the 2017 season in which he claimed 26 wickets from just 14 matches. He became the first Indian bowler to take 25+ wickets in a single season. On course, he also became the only player to retain the ‘Purple Cap.’

Bhuvi missed four matches in the ongoing season due to injury. As a result, he is on the verge of losing the rare feat to become the only player to win this award three times consecutively.

#4 Purple Cap in winning cause

Tanvir was the first player to win the purple cap

Irrespective of the format, bowlers are the ones who can win matches for a team in any problematic situation. SRH’s exhibition of bowling skills in the recent edition of IPL is a good example.

In the ten editions of the competition, only thrice the bowler with the purple cap ended up on the champion’s side. Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals in 2008), R.P. Singh (Deccan Chargers in 2009), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH in 2016) were the only players to earn the award in winning effort.