Top 5 Contenders For The Purple Cap: The 15th edition of the biggest cricket festival in the world is less than a fortnight away. All the ten teams have started their quarantine with some even having begun their preparatory camps.
Since the mega-auction was completed last month, fans have been speculating about which team could emerge victorious this season, as well as who could be the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker of the tournament.
With the form of the bowlers and pitches they will bowl on – all league games will be played on good surfaces in Mumbai and Pune – we predict the top 5 contenders for the Purple Cap this season:
Jasprit Bumrah
While Mumbai Indians missed the playoffs last season, Jasprit Bumrah continued his brilliant form with the ball, snaring 21 wickets while conceding at 7.45 runs per over. Overall, the 28-year-old has 130 IPL wickets at an economy of 7.42, which is excellent given he bowls in the powerplay and at least two overs in the death every game.
Further, Bumrah will have the scales in his favour for some games because only Mumbai Indians are the franchise that will play some games at their home ground, Wankhede. Surprisingly, Bumrah has never won the Purple Cap yet in his career; perhaps this year he could end up with that as well and help MI to another title.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is without any doubt the best T20 spinner in the world and one of the most sought after players by franchise leagues. The Afghanistan leg-spinner is difficult to be hit by even the best of the batters because of his stock ball – a fast, sharp turning googly – that batsmen remain wary of and mixes it with his leg-cutters.
Rashid has so far picked 93 wickets in 76 IPL games, with a staggering economy of 6.33. He’s now left SRH and was one of the first three picks for Gujarat Titans. Rashid is a four-over bank and may this year finally win the Purple Cap.
Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan had a breakthrough season last year when he snapped 24 wickets – second-highest in IPL 2021 – helping the Delhi Capitals through to the playoffs.
On the back of that and his domestic record, Avesh made it into India’s T20I side as well, and will be raring to go and bowl fast and at his typical hard lengths for his new team, Lucknow Super Giants who splurged out 10 crore to gain the services of the Indore fast bowler.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj was one of the only 5 fast bowlers who were retained by the franchises ahead of the mega-auction. This shows how much RCB values and rates Siraj’s T20 bowling ability and nous. Siraj, who had an underwhelming start to his IPL career and was heavily trolled during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, has shot up the ranks with his hard work and being RCB’s bowling leader in the last two seasons.
He picked 11 wickets last season, but it was his economy of 6.79 that stood out. A swing bowler, Siraj will enjoy bowling with the new ball in Mumbai and Pune, while he has also upped his death bowling last season.
Kagiso Rabada
That Kagiso Rabada wasn’t retained by the Delhi Capitals in preference to Anrich Nortje must have hurt the speedster. Rabada was the Purple Cap winner in 2020 with 30 wickets to his name and was instrumental in DC reaching the final. A dip in the wicket column and a leaking runs in the death last season saw him getting out of favour to his compatriot Nortje by the Capitals.
Now, Rabada will turn up the heat bowling for the Punjab Kings who bagged the Protea paceman for 9.25 crore at the mega-auction. Rabada has been in form for South Africa over the past few months and is expected to right up the bowling charts in the Purple Cap race this IPL season.
