IPL 2020: 5 players who can win the Purple Cap in UAE

There is a famous quote that states, “the batsmen that win you games but it’s the bowlers who win you tournaments.” T20 cricket is tipped as the batsman’s game. However, the bowlers have a big say and they have evolved and adapted. And the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a big part of the bowler’s revolution as well.

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Over the years, we’ve seen bowlers dominate IPLs and steal the show as well. However, the Purple Cap is slightly underrated when compared to the Orange Cap. There have been four instances where an Indian has won the Purple Cap across the 12 seasons. Only two bowlers in the history of the IPL have won the Purple Cap twice – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2016 and 2017) and Dwayne Bravo (2013 and 2015).

With IPL 2020 being staged in the UAE this time around, here are five bowlers who can end up with the Purple Cap at the end of the season.

Jasprit Bumrah

There is a slight myth that people around the world have. Jasprit Bumrah did not break into the Indian team on the back of his IPL performances. There is no doubt that the IPL gave him some spotlight. However, before his India debut, Bumrah picked just 11 wickets from 17 games. Thus, it was on the back of his strong domestic performances that the Gujarat speedster broke into the Indian team.

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But from the time, he has made his international debut, Bumrah has been brilliant in the IPL. He may not have dominated a single season but in the last four seasons, he has picked up at least 15 wickets every season. In fact, since the start of the 2016 season, Bumrah is the joint-highest wicket-taker – 71 wickets. Moreover, he has taken 3+ wickets in an innings eight times, which is the most in this period. His economy of 7.17 is the second-best after Lungi Ngidi for any fast bowler.

There hasn’t been a lot of talk around Bumrah and his IPL performances. His form in 2020 has been slightly scratchy as he came back from a big injury layoff. Hence, he would want to roar back. This could well be the season where he dominates and might as well be a strong contender for the Purple Cap.

Rashid Khan

Ever since he made his debut, Rashid Khan has taken the IPL by storm. He has troubled almost every batsman in the league since he came on to the scene. He has all the variations and most batsmen have found it tough to pick him or even read him as he has a quick arm action.

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Since the start of 2017 (Rashid’s IPL debut), only Bumrah has taken more wickets (56) than Rashid’s 55. In the three seasons he has played, the Afghanistan superstar has picked 17, 21 and 17 wickets respectively. He has an economy of 6.55 which is the second-best after Lungi Ngidi (11 wickets) among all bowlers who’ve bowled at least 25 overs since 2017 in the IPL. In fact, no player with more than 20 wickets in this period has a better economy than Rashid.

Moreover, he has been performing consistently across all T20 leagues around the world. And the conditions in the UAE will help him as well. While he has been in and around the Purple Cap around the last three seasons, Rashid has gone on to become the leading wicket-taker in an IPL season. That might be one record he will be eyeing this time around.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Over the last few years, Yuzvendra Chahal has gone on to become India’s lead spinner in the shorter formats. And it has been due to his performances in the IPL. The leg-spinner from Haryana has been around since 2011 but it wasn’t until 2014 that he got regular chances. Between 2011 and 2013, Chahal was a part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad but played just one game. But the switch to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has worked wonders.

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In fact, since the start of the 2014 season, only two players have picked up 100 or more wickets and Chahal is one of them. No other spinner is even close. Add to the fact that he bowls most at a ground which is known as a graveyard for bowlers, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Despite the flat batting conditions and short boundaries, Chahal has found a way to be successful.

The conditions in the UAE might be to his liking as well. The last time the IPL was in the UAE, he took seven wickets from five games, averaging 14.43 at an economy of 5.32. That was back in 2014 and now, he is a much-improved bowler. Thus, watch out for Chahal this season.

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada may have played just two seasons of the IPL so far but has had a pretty big impact. It was back in 2017 that he made his debut for the Delhi Capitals. He played just six games but picked up just six wickets. He averaged 31.33 and struck once every 21 deliveries. The South African pacer missed the 2018 season due to injury.

However, he turned out to be an absolute beast in 2019. Had he not missed the later stages of the IPL, he would’ve definitely finished with the Purple Cap. He picked 25 wickets at an average of 14.72 and a strike-rate of 11.28. And that took his overall IPL numbers to 31 wickets, an average of 17.94 and a strike-rate of 13.23. And those (average and strike-rate) are the second-best for any bowler in the history of the IPL (minimum of 240 balls).

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The sample size may not be too big but it is no hidden fact that Rabada is a bowling superstar and has been performing consistently in world cricket, across all three formats. He will lead the Delhi Capitals attack once again this year and might be on the hunt for the Purple Cap.

Shreyas Gopal

Shreyas Gopal is a very underrated bowler. Over the last couple of years, despite doing well, he has flown under the radar. The Karnataka leg-spinner started his IPL with Mumbai Indians (MI) but played a mere six games across three seasons and sat out the entire 2017 season. In 2018, Rajasthan Royals (RR) picked him up from the auction and he has been their lead spinner.

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In the 2018 and 2019 seasons combined, Gopal has picked up 31 wickets, the third-highest in the last two seasons. In this period, he averages 18.81 and has a strike-rate of 15.29 which is the best for any spinner. Moreover, he has the knack of picking up big (and prized) scalps.

Gopal had a very good domestic 2019-20 season as well. He took 13 wickets in the 50-over tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, he dominated the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20 tournament). He finished with 19 wickets which was the joint second-most. He had an average of 15.00 and a strike-rate of 13.2. Thus, he could well be one bowler to watch out for.