IPL 2018: Top 5 Purple Cap candidates

The most anticipated IPL 2018 auction was done and dusted. The focus will slowly shift towards the actual battle. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are back after two years. The tournament starts on April 7th and eight teams will battle for almost 7 weeks to decide the Champions of IPL 2018.

Orange Cup and Purple Cap are two of IPL’s most coveted awards. It will be given to the player with most runs and most wickets respectively. Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the Purple Cap last year as he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden IPL title. Players like Lasith Malinga, Morne Morkel, Mohit Sharma, and Sohail Tanvir have won the Purple Cap in the past.

On that note, let’s take a look at the list of 5 players who are the leading candidates to take most wickets in IPL 2018.

#5 Dwayne Bravo; Chennai Super Kings

Will this be a hat-trick of Purple Caps for Bravo?

Bravo was a Purple Cap winner on a couple of occasions in the past. He won it in 2013 (32 wickets) and in 2015 (26 wickets). With 32 wickets in 2013, he holds the record for most wickets in a single IPL tournament. He played for Chennai in the previous editions and Chennai Super Kings bought him again for a stunning $1.2 million.

Dwayne Bravo so far played 90 IPL games and took 111 wickets. Though he does not bowl extreme pace like Pat Cummins, Chris Morris or Mitchell Starc, he picks up a lot of wickets in T20’s. His strength lies in his variations and precision. His slow balls are extremely hard to pick and he uses it brilliantly.

Dwayne Bravo is not in great form at the moment but expect him to bounce back. He will be Dhoni’s trump card in the tournament and will take the responsibility of bowling in the death overs.

#4 Rashid Khan; Sunrisers Hyderabad

Can he beat his teammate to the Orange Cap?

Here comes the Afghani sensation. Rashid Khan was snapped up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping $1.7 million via the right to match card, after a heavy bidding by the Royals, Kings XI, and Mumbai Indians.

With 80 wickets, Rashid Khan was the highest wicket-taker in T20’s last year. The 19-year-old was brilliant in the last edition of IPL with 17 wickets from 14 games. He mesmerized some of the great batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, and Suresh Raina in the IPL last year.

The leg-spinner has a career T20 economy of less than 6, making him a deadly T20 bowler. He is extremely accurate and possesses a deceptive googly. His variations are hard to read and he bowls quicker through the air, making him a tough nut to crack. He can bowl anywhere in the innings and is a lethal wicket-taker.

#3 Andrew Tye; Kings XI Punjab

IPL will see the best of Andrew Tye this time

The Australian limited overs expert is one of the best death overs bowlers in Cricket right now. Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings clashed head to head for the Australian and Kings XI finally landed him for a huge $1.4 million.

Tye was brilliant last year when he picked up 12 wickets from 6 games, including a stunning hat-trick. He was superb for Perth Scorchers in BBL 2017/18 and brilliant for Australia in their limited overs series against England.

Tye’s major weapon remains his ‘Knuckle Ball’ as batsmen found it extremely hard to pick his slower ones. The 31-year-old is an accurate death overs bowler and will pick up a lot of wickets from overs 16 to 20. He averages 1.5 wickets per game in T20’s and a great buy for Kings XI Punjab.

#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar; Sunrisers Hyderabad

Can he make it three in a row?

India’s most consistent limited overs bowler for more than a year now. Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the Purple Cap on previous two occasions in IPL when he took 23 and 26 wickets in IPL 2016 and IPL 2017 respectively. He has a career IPL economy of 7.08. He was retained by SRH for a fee of $1.7 million/Rs 8.5 Cr.

Bhuvneshwar’s speciality is his ability to swing the new ball and bowl accurately during the death overs. He is very consistent and took at least 18 wickets in the last 4 editions of the Indian Premier League. He is also the sixth highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

The 27-year-old opens and finishes the bowling for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. He is in supreme form right now and will definitely play a huge role for SRH in 2018. Expect him to bag the Purple Cap for the third time in a row.

#1 Mitchell Starc; Kolkata Knight Riders

Inform Mitchell Starc will destroy any batting lineup

The Australian is one of the most deadly limited overs bowlers in international cricket right now. He constantly hits the 90mph mark and possesses a lethal yorker.

Mitchell Starc previously played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the last two editions of the tournament. However, he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders this time, for a whopping $1.8m.

Starc has played 27 IPL games so far and took 34 wickets. He bowls in the power plays and in the death overs for Australia in T20I and will do the same for KKR. He is a prolific wicket-taker and Kolkata will expect nothing different.

Mitchell Starc is fit and currently playing for Australia in their limited overs series against England. He is available for the full tournament, barring injuries. We will be seeing a lot of toe-crushing yorkers.