Indian Premier League 2021 will start from 9 April. Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore will be the first match of this season’s IPL. Every passing year, the bowlers have been smartly operating and adjusting in the T20 format. They are finding innovative ways to contain batsmen. Every year, Purple Cap is given to the bowler who picks up the most wickets in one season of the IPL.
Last year, the winner of the purple cap was Kagiso Rabada with 30 wickets. In this article, we will look at players who have the best shot of winning the coveted award this year.
Kagiso Rabada: First and foremost, the man who is defending his purple cap from last year. Kagiso Rabada picked up a record 30 wickets in the 2020 season laying for Delhi Capitals. He has, so far picked 61 wickets in the 35 IPL matches that he has played. Although his economy is on a higher side (8.24 rpo) his main role in the team is that of a wicket-taker, which he does efficiently.
Rashid Khan: The ace Afghan leg-spinner who is the number. 2 T20I bowler currently, is another contender to win the Purple Cap. Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has picked up 75 wickets in 62 IPL matches. He can bowl the flighted leg-spinners, the googly’s, flippers and other variations as well. He has been foxing batsmen for far too long. He is a strong contender to win the Purple cap.
Jasprit Bumrah: The death overs specialist and perhaps the best T20 bowler around the world right now, Bumrah can pick wickets at will. His economy rate of 7.42 in 92 IPL matches is commendable considering he bowls most of his overs either in the powerplay or in the death. He was the second highest wicket taker behind Rabada with 27 wickets. Bumrah is Mumbai Indians’ backbone in the bowling attack.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: He has been SRH’s go to bowler for many years now. The purple cap winner for the years 2016 and 2017 has an economy of 7.24 in 121 IPL matches. He has 136 wickets against his name in IPL. Bhuvi has been successful even bowling for India in the recent series against England. So, form won’t be a big cause of concern for SRH. Just like Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar can bowl in the power play as well as in the death overs.
Imran Tahir: The winner of the purple cap in 2019, Imran Tahir has to be one of the strongest contenders to win the purple cap this year. He picked up 26 wickets in 17 matches in 2019 season when he won the purple cap. Tair has a whopping 80 wickets in just 58 matches he has played in the IPL. Tahir has the trust of CSK’s captain MS Dhoni. He will be the one bowler to look out for in IPL 2021.
This was our list of who could be the winners of the Purple Cap in 2021. But IPL has a tendency to surprise. Do tell us in comments about who else can be in the list of players probable of winning the purple cap in 2021.