IPL 2018: Top 3 Dark Horses for the Purple Cap

IPL is the platform where every year players from around the world participate to showcase their talent and gain name and fame for their performances. You need good bowlers in your team who can not only contain batsman but also break partnerships by taking wickets.

Every year we see some exceptional performances in the bowling department. IPL awards such performances in bowling with the Purple Cap. The Purple Cap is an award presented to the leading wicket-taker in the IPL.

After the start of the tradition of Orange Cap on 25 April 2008, the Indian Premier League introduced the Purple Cap on 13 May 2008. The bowler who is the leading wicket-taker during the season wears the Purple Cap while fielding.

The overall leading wicket-taker the end of the tournament wins the actual Purple Cap award at on the day of the season's final. In case of a tie, the bowler with the best economy rate would wear the Purple Cap. Sohail Tanvir was the first person to win the award.

We see few dark horses in the tournament. We have seen players like Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine who shock everyone with their out of the blue performances. This year also we could see such players. Here are three players who could be dark horses for the purple cap this year.

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#3 Mujeeb Ur Rahman

At just 16 years of age, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was picked by Kings XI Punjab for a huge amount of Rs. 4 crore in the auction. Mujeeb bowls off-spin and mixes it up with leg-spin and googlies.

He carried his form in the U-19 World Cup this year, where his four-wicket haul against New Zealand helped Afghanistan in qualifying for the semifinal of the tournament.

He has also played for his national side in ODI cricket, where he has affected 31 dismissals in just 13 matches. Mujeeb Ur Rahman is a complete bowling package. In World Cup Qualifiers 2018, Mujeeb is showing some amazing skills and he has taken 13 wickets in 6 matches in the tournament. Mujeeb could be a good spinner for KXIP and could trouble batsman with his varied bowling.

#2 Jofra Archer

Rajasthan Royals paid a huge amount of Rs. 7.2 crore for an unknown player like Jofra Archer at the auction. This bowling all-rounder grabbed the limelight in the Big Bash League this year.

He has good pace and bounce and his ability to bowl at death makes him a hot prospect for any T20 franchise in league cricket. In BBL 2018, he claimed 16 wickets in just 12 matches with an economy rate of 7.96. He is also a lower-order pinch hitter with career strike rate of 143.38.

This all-round ability will make him a valuable asset for the Rajasthan Royals. He is also a quick fielder and has some excellent catches to his name already. If Archer is able to continue his form in IPL, he would grab the spotlight this year.

Archer has a responsibility to lead his side in bowling from the front and give the team the initial breakthroughs. He will also have to bowl in tremendous pressure at death overs. If he succeeds, he would give solid competition to all the bowlers for the Purple Cap.

#1 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye is a modern-day T20 specialist bowler. His ability to hit yorkers at the death and his variations in his bowling impressed KXIP and they bought him for a price of Rs. 7.2 crore at the auction.

In his 70 T20s, Tye has taken 107 wickets at an economy rate of 7.77. Tye is known for generating clever pace and he chokes the batsman with his accuracy. He has improved season after season in the BBL.

The Western Australian bowls unbelievably in pressure situations and is a reliable death overs bowler. He had been in the Chennai Super Kings squad a few years ago but never got a game.

After that, he was picked by Gujarat Lions, and in his debut game, he took a startling five wickets which also included a fantastic hat-trick. He will be keen to be consistent in IPL 2018 and take maximum wickets to earn the Purple Cap.