"Bumrah ne nahi jita hai" - Former India cricketer slams award criteria for bowlers amid IPL 2025 [Watch]

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has called for a change in the rules to determine the winner of the Purple Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 44-year-old pointrd out that bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah were yet to win the cap because batters have tried to play him out and not given their wicket to him.

The Purple Cap is awarded to bowlers who end the tournament with the maximum number of wickets in a season.

"Ek baat jo mein khush aap log se karna chah raha tha wo tha ki jo rule, jo niyam hai Purple Cap kaise jeet the hai. Woh Purple Cap usko di jaati hai. Main iss niyam se khush nahi hoon kyunki Bumrah jaise gendbaaz, ya Narine hai, ya Rashid Khan hai inn logo ne abhi tak Purple Cap nahi jita hai. (One thing that I want to talk to you about is the Purple Cap rule. I am not happy with the rule because bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan have never won it)," Kaif said in a video on X on Thursday (May 1).

The 2008 IPL winner felt that factors such as the number of boundaries a bowler concedes, the number of sixes a bowler concedes as well as his economy rate should be taken into account, instead of merely considering the number of wickets taken by a bowler in the IPL.

Seven Indian bowlers have won Purple Cap since 2008; Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel have won it twice

The Purple Cap was introduced in the IPL in the inaugural edition in 2008 to recognize bowlers who claim the most number of wickets during the tournament and also, at the end of the tournament. Seven Indian bowlers have won the Purple Cap at the end of the IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was awarded the cap at the end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Harshal Patel has also won the Purple Cap twice, in 2021 and 2024 seasons.

As of May 1, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pace bowler Josh Hazlewood is the Purple Cap holder in IPL 2025, having taken 18 wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 8.44.