Most wickets by spinners in an IPL edition
The 15 editions of the Indian Premier League have rarely witnessed a spinner ruling the leaderboard for most wickets in the season and putting up a fight with the pacers for the Purple Cap. Though there have been just three such instances of spinner winning the race, there have been scenarios where the spinners registered new records. The recent edition of the IPL 2022 saw two spinners emerge on top, leaving aside all the fast bowlers. Let us have a look at the top five spinners who scalped the most wickets in an IPL edition-
Sunil Narine and Harbhajan Singh (24 wickets)
Back in 2012, Sunil Narine became the spinner to make a mark in the Indian Premier League by scalping 24 wickets in the edition for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Narine has been one of the key players in the KKR setup since he joined the camp, and has delivered worthy performances every year, consistently. In the IPL 2012, Narine averaged 13.50 at a magnificent economy of 5.47.
Harbhajan Singh represented the Mumbai Indians in the 2013 edition when the team lifted their first IPL Trophy. One of the finest spinners of MI, he was the standout player that year with a total of 24 wickets under his belt at an average of 19.00 and an economy of 6.51.
Imran Tahir and Wanindu Hasaranga (26)
The South African spinner represented the Chennai Super Kings in the year 2019 and ended with the Purple Cap, with a total of 26 wickets. Tahir became just the second spinner to win the prestigious Cap award in the year 2019, and he became the spinner with most scalps in a single edition of the IPL, breaking Pragyan Ojha’s record of 21 wickets. Tahir averaged 16.57 at an impressive economy of 6.69.
Tahir’s feat was leveled this year in the recently concluded IPL 2022 when Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Wanindu Hasaranga bagged 26 wickets for his side and gave his best performance till the playoff stage of the edition. He averaged 16.53 and his economy was 7.54.
Yuzvendra Chahal (27)
The Indian spinner broke multiple records and emerged as the leading wicket-taker of the recently concluded IPL 2022. Chahal and Hasaranga were leveled at 26 wickets, but the latter had an upper hand because of a better economy. However, Chahal surpassed him to bag the Purple Cap in the 2022 edition to become the third spinner in 15 editions to achieve the feat and also broke Imran Tahir’s record of most wickets by a spinner in a single IPL edition. With a total of 27 wickets, Chahal averaged 19.51 at an economy of 7.75