The Indian Premier League season 16 will start off with Chennai Super Kings will face defending Gujarat Titans in front of a capacity crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on 31 March 2023.
The Purple Cap award is given to the player with the most wickets in a season. Since the inception of the Indian Premier League in 2008, Dwayne Bravo winning this award twice in 2013 and 2015. Bravo took 32 wickets for CSK in the 2013 edition while grabbing 26 wickets in the 2015 edition. Pakistan Sohail Tanvir won the first Purple Cap award in 2008 for Rajasthan Royals with 22 wickets from 11 matches.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the award twice in successive years in 2016 and 2017 for SRH. Kumar picked 23 wickets in the 2016 edition and 26 wickets in 2017. Yuzvendra Chahal won this award during the 2022 edition with 27 wickets from 17 matches including a hattrick for Rajasthan Royals.
The Indian Premier League 2023 would be hoping for bowlers to shine and help their team win matches with brilliant spells.
Here we look at the 5 players who could win the Purple Cap in IPL 2023
- Kagiso Rabada
The South African speedster Kagiso Rabada looked very impressive for Punjab Kings in the 2022 edition. He looked threatening to pick early wickets in the first six overs and did not allow the batters to score runs freely.
Despite Punjab Kings not qualifying for the playoffs, Rabada took 23 wickets from 13 matches ( 13 innings) at an economy of 8.45 runs per over. He grabbed the best figures of 4 for 33 against Gujarat Titans. He ended the tournament as the third leading run-getter in the tournament after Yuzvendra Chahal and Hasaranga.
He was retained by the Punjab Kings franchise this season. After returning from national duty, Rabada would be eager to perform well and give a perfect start by picking early wickets with the new ball.
- Umran Malik
Umran Malik would be eager to continue the brilliant form that he displayed in the 2022 edition of SRH. It was a remarkable season for Umran who looked threatening in the entire tournament.
Malik also has experience playing for India and would be looking to demonstrate his fast bowling skills. During the 2022 edition of IPL, Umran grabbed 22 wickets from 14 matches ( 14 innings) at an economy of 9.03. Despite going for runs, the Jammu and Kashmir express picked up 1 four-wicket haul and 1 five-wicket haul in the tournament.
He grabbed figures of 5 for 25 against Gujarat Titans and won the player of the match award despite Sunrisers Hyderabad losing the match. Umran has been retained by the SRH franchise this season and hopes to bring out his best helping SRH qualify for the playoff stage.
- Rashid Khan
Gujarat Titans bought Afghan spin wizard Rashid Khan in the 2022 edition of IPL. He played a key role in helping GT win the title with his accurate spin bowling not allowing the batters to score runs easily.
He grabbed a total of 19 wickets from 16 matches ( 16 innings) at an economy of 6.59 runs per over which is great in the T20 format. During the tournament, Rashid Khan picked figures of 4 for 24 against Lucknow Super Giants.
If the conditions help the spin bowlers, Rashid Khan would be handy and can create enough pressure on opponent batters. He was retained by the Gujarat Titans franchise and hopes to play a key role again helping them to retain the title.
- Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav looked impressive in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. During the 3rd ODI in Chennai, Kuldeep Yadav took the wickets of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, and Alex Carey and delivered the goods for the Indian team.
He featured for Delhi Capitals in the 2022 edition of IPL. The chinamen looked impressive with the style of bowling keeping the batters guessing. He played a total of 14 matches ( 14 innings) picking up 21 wickets at an economy of 8.43 runs per over. During the tournament, Kuldeep took twice four-wicket hauls.
Kuldeep Yadav will be a threat to other batters and can create an impact with his style of bowling. Despite Delhi Capitals not qualifying for the playoff stage, he registered figures of 4 for 14 against Kolkata Knight Riders.
- Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has improved as a bowler in the shorter version of cricket. He looked in impressive form during the ODI series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand at home picking up early wickets and putting batters under pressure.
The pace bowler struggled a lot in the 2022 edition of IPL with only 9 wickets from 15 matches ( 15 innings) at an economy rate of 10.07 runs per over. RCB decided to retain him for this season and would be hoping to repay his faith with wonderful performances.
Mohammed Siraj picked the best figures of 2 for 30 but would be looking for decent performances in the upcoming season.
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