IPL Purple Cap Winners List (2008–2025) – Records & Stats
What Is the IPL Purple Cap?
The Purple Cap is awarded to the bowler who takes the most wickets in an IPL season. The bowler leading the wicket tally wears the cap during matches, and the final winner is decided at the end of the tournament. In case of a tie, the bowler with the better economy rate gets the award.
IPL Purple Cap Winners List (2008–2025) — Full Table
| Year | Player | Team | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sohail Tanvir | Rajasthan Royals | 22 |
| 2009 | RP Singh | Deccan Chargers | 23 |
| 2010 | Pragyan Ojha | Deccan Chargers | 21 |
| 2011 | Lasith Malinga | Mumbai Indians | 28 |
| 2012 | Morne Morkel | Delhi Daredevils | 25 |
| 2013 | Dwayne Bravo | Chennai Super Kings | 32 |
| 2014 | Mohit Sharma | Chennai Super Kings | 23 |
| 2015 | Dwayne Bravo | Chennai Super Kings | 26 |
| 2016 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 23 |
| 2017 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 26 |
| 2018 | Andrew Tye | Kings XI Punjab | 24 |
| 2019 | Imran Tahir | Chennai Super Kings | 26 |
| 2020 | Kagiso Rabada | Delhi Capitals | 30 |
| 2021 | Harshal Patel | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 32 |
| 2022 | Yuzvendra Chahal | Rajasthan Royals | 27 |
| 2023 | Mohammed Shami | Gujarat Titans | 28 |
| 2024 | Harshal Patel | Punjab Kings | 24 |
| 2025 | Prasidh Krishna | Gujarat Titans | 25 |
The Players Who Won It More Than Once
Only three bowlers in 18 seasons have managed to win the Purple Cap twice. That tells you just how hard it is to sustain this level across full IPL seasons.
Dwayne Bravo — 2013 & 2015 (CSK)
Bravo broke all records with 32 wickets in 2013 — the highest ever in an IPL season at the time. His death-over mastery made him CSK’s go-to bowler. He came back two years later and did it again with 26 wickets. Two Purple Caps. Same team. Same method — slower balls, change of pace, and ice-cold nerves at the death.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar — 2016 & 2017 (SRH)
Back-to-back Purple Caps — Bhuvi took 23 wickets in 2016 and then 26 wickets in 2017, cementing his reputation as India’s finest T20 swing bowler. He’s the only bowler in IPL history to win it in consecutive seasons. Swing both ways, control the powerplay, and repeat. That was his formula.
Harshal Patel — 2021 & 2024 (RCB, then PBKS)
Harshal became the first player to win the Purple Cap with two different franchises. His 24 wickets in 2024 underlined his death bowling mastery. His 2021 season was arguably the more special one — 32 wickets in just 15 matches for RCB, equalling Bravo’s all-time record.
The Records That Define the Purple Cap
Most wickets in a single season: Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel both scalped 32 wickets — the most for any bowler in a single IPL season. With a better economy rate, Bravo officially holds the record.
Best economy among all winners: Lasith Malinga’s economy rate of 5.95 in his 2011 season remains the best by any Purple Cap winner in IPL history. Conceding under 6 runs per over across an entire IPL season is extraordinary.
Only back-to-back winner: Bhuvneshwar Kumar — 2016 and 2017. Never been repeated since.
Most memorable spell by a winner: Sohail Tanvir’s 6 for 14 against Chennai Super Kings in 2008 stood as the best bowling figures in IPL history for over a decade.
Latest winner: Prasidh Krishna won the Purple Cap in IPL 2025 with 25 wickets in 15 matches for Gujarat Titans, with an average of 19.52 and an economy of 8.27.
What the Winners Tell Us — Key Patterns
Pace dominates, but spin has its moments: Data shows that pace bowlers have won the Purple Cap more frequently than spinners. But Pragyan Ojha (2010), Imran Tahir (2019), and Yuzvendra Chahal (2022) prove that a quality spinner can absolutely top the charts.
Death bowling is the real separator: Almost every Purple Cap winner has been exceptional in the last four overs of an innings. Bravo, Malinga, Harshal, Rabada — they all controlled the death. That’s where wickets are most precious.
Gujarat Titans have become a bowling factory: In recent IPL seasons, the Purple Cap race has been dominated by GT bowlers — Mohammed Shami won in 2023 and Prasidh Krishna in 2025, continuing the franchise’s strong bowling legacy.
Winning the Purple Cap rarely means winning the title: just like the Orange Cap race where a few top batters usually stand out every season. Only twice has a player from the championship-winning team received the Purple Cap — showing that individual bowling brilliance and team success don’t always come together.
Conclusion
From Sohail Tanvir’s unorthodox left-arm pace in 2008 to Prasidh Krishna’s bounce and aggression in 2025, the Purple Cap has honoured bowlers who found a way to take wickets in a format built for batters.
Three men — Bravo, Bhuvneshwar, and Harshal — have done it twice. Nobody has done it three times yet. That’s the next record waiting to be broken.
Want more IPL records? The complete Orange Cap winners list shows how batting stars have dominated across seasons, alongside bowlers in the Purple Cap race.
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❓FAQs
Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans won the Purple Cap in IPL 2025 with 25 wickets in 15 matches.
Dwayne Bravo, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Harshal Patel hold the record for the most Purple Caps, winning the award twice each.
32 wickets — shared by Dwayne Bravo (2013) and Harshal Patel (2021). Bravo holds the official record due to a better economy rate.
Yes — it has happened three times. Pragyan Ojha (2010), Imran Tahir (2019), and Yuzvendra Chahal (2022) all won it as specialist spinners.
The bowler with the better economy rate wins.