IPL 2020: 5 dark horses who could win the Purple Cap for the first time

#2 Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar has been MS Dhoni's go-to man in the IPL

Deepak Chahar is a regular in the T20I setup for India now, and his worth in the shortest format of the game has been proven on many occasions in the IPL. The Rajasthan pacer has an accurate yorker and deceptive cutters, but more importantly, he has the backing of captain MS Dhoni.

Chahar picked up 22 wickets in 17 games in the 2019 IPL, finishing only 4 wickets behind his CSK teammate Imran Tahir. This time around, the 28-year-old could take it a step further and win the Purple Cap. With him bowling exclusively in the powerplay and at the death, all the signs point to Chahar having yet another splendid season in yellow.

Along with Dwayne Bravo, Chahar will have to bear the burden of CSK's pace bowling responsibilities, and he is likely to deliver again.

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#1 Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB's hopes rest on the newly engaged Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal has always been in and among the wickets in the IPL, and he isn't as dark a horse as the others on this list. However, the leg-spinner has picked up only 18, 12, and 14 wickets in his last 3 seasons in the IPL, far behind the tallies of the Purple Cap winners.

RCB haven't really done much to address their bowling issues, and in the spin-friendly UAE conditions, Chahal might have to shoulder the burden of keeping his team alive in the tournament once again. The Haryana bowler will have bigger boundaries than the Chinnaswamy Stadium to fall back on, which would make taking him on even harder than usual.

Chahal could win the Purple Cap this IPL season, but even if he doesn't, he'll have to pick up a bucketload of wickets for his team to qualify for the playoffs.