The 2026 IPL cricket season has been one for the record books. Now, with the IPL Trophy hanging in the balance, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Final could come down to whose bowling unit is better. It will be a Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Kagiso Rabada showdown, with the two IPL players at the top of the 2026 Purple Cap leaderboard (and previous Purple Cap winners).
For those more familiar with the NBA and MLB, bowlers are essentially this sport‘s pitchers. Unlike the MLB, there are limits to how much a bowler can bowl in a cricket match.
There are many ways to take wickets. However, those ways all look the same on the score sheet. With that in mind, here is the Purple Cap leaderboard for wickets, maidens, bowling figures, dot balls, and economy, in addition to a list of previous winners and some interesting stats & observations.
Purple Cap 2026 Leaderboard: Top 5 Wickets
It’s not easy to take wickets match after match. This makes winning the Purple Cap an incredibly impressive achievement. Heading into the RCB vs GT Final, here is the Purple Cap top 5 leaderboard.
- Kagiso Rabada (GT), 28 wickets, 16 matches
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB), 27 wickets, 15 matches
- Jofra Archer (RR), 25 wickets, 16 matches
- Anshul Kamboj (CSK), 21 wickets, 14 matches
- Esthan Malinga (SRH), 20 wickets, 15 matches
Most Maidens in the 2026 IPL
Here are all the bowlers who recorded maidens in the 2026 IPL.
- Mohsin Khan (LSG), 3 maidens, 7 matches
- Akeal Hossein (CSK), 1 maiden, 7 matches
- Mohammed Siraj (GT), 1 maiden, 16 matches
- Suyash Sharma (RCB), 1 maiden, 12 matches
- Jofra Archer (RR), 1 maiden, 16 matches
- Kagiso Rabada (GT), 1 maiden, 16 matches
- Corbin Bosch (MI), 1 maiden, 6 matches
- Rasikh Dar (RCB), 1 maiden, 11 matches
IPL 2026: Top 5 Best Bowling Figures
Here are the bowlers who had the five best figures over the entire 2026 IPL.
- Mohsin Khan (LSG), 5/23 (4) vs KKR
- Josh Hazlewood (RCB), 4/12 (3.3) vs DC
- Akeal Hossein (CSK), 4/17 (4) vs MI
- Jamie Overton (CSK), 4/18 (4) vs DC
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB), 4/23 (4) vs MI
Most Dot Balls
Here are the top five bowlers in the IPL this year in dot balls.
- Kagiso Rabada (GT), 165 dots
- Mohammed Siraj (GT), 162 dots
- Jofra Archer (RR), 158 dots
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB), 141 dots
- Sunil Narine (KKR), 137 dots
Best Bowling Economy
Here are the five best bowling economy amongst bowlers.
- Sunil Narine (KKR), 6.64 (13 matches)
- Harpreet Brar (PBKS), 7.50 (2 matches)
- Jason Holder (GT), 7.54 (10 matches)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB), 8.00 (15 matches)
- Akeal Hossein (CSK), 8.02 (7 matches)
IPL Players: Previous Purple Cap Winners
Who will win the Purple Cap in 2026? While IPL fans everywhere await the results of the IPL 2026 Final between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Gujarat Titans, here is the list of previous Purple Cap winners.
- 2025: Prasidh Krishna (GT) – 25 wickets
- 2024: Harshal Patel (PBKS) – 24 wickets
- 2023: Mohammad Shami (GT) – 28 wickets
- 2022: Yuzvendra Chahal (RR) – 27 wickets
- 2021: Harshal Patel (RCB) – 32 wickets
- 2020: Kagiso Rabada (DC) – 30 wickets
- 2019: Imran Tahir (CSK) – 26 wickets
- 2018: Andrew Tye (PBKS) – 24 wickets
- 2017: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) – 26 wickets
- 2016: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) – 23 wickets
- 2015: Dwayne Bravo (CSK) – 26 wickets
- 2014: Mohit Sharma (CSK) – 23 wickets
- 2013: Dwayne Bravo (CSK) – 32 wickets
- 2012: Morne Morkel (DC) – 25 wickets
- 2011: Lasith Malinga (MI) – 28 wickets
- 2010: Pragyan Ojha – 21 wickets
- 2009: RP Singh – 23 wickets
- 2008: Sohail Tanvir (RR) – 22 wickets
Observations About Purple Cap Winners
Here are some interesting observations and stats on previous IPL players who have won the Purple Cap.
- Most Wickets: Harshal Patel 2021 & Dwayne Bravo 2013 (32)
- Least Wickets: Pragyan Ojha, 2010 (21)
- Bowler With Most Purple Caps: Dwayne Bravo, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, & Harshal Patel (2)
- Youngest Bowler to Win: Kagiso Rabada, 2020 (25-years-old).
- Oldest Bowler to Win: Imran Tahir, 2019 (40-years-old).
- Only Back-to-Back Winner: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
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