Take your pick: Potential Purple Cap winners in IPL 2020
The highly anticipated Indian Premier League is less than 2 weeks away and the excitement levels are through the roof. While there are a number of uncertainties involved, there is one certainty, with the quality of players involved, the IPL is yet again going to be a highly competitive tournament.
One drastic change this year that is going to make a difference is how teams will adapt to the slow and low pitches of the UAE. The nature of the surfaces will not only make batting harder but will give an edge to the bowlers as well. A number of top tier bowlers will be looking forward to creating havoc. Let’s have a look at 5 players who can win the purple cap this season.
5. Rashid Khan
The Spin King from Afghanistan has picked 55 wickets since his debut in 2017 and has finished amongst the highest wicket-takers each year. His economy of just 6.55 makes his performance even more praiseworthy. He possesses the ability to spin a web around the batsmen, with his varying speeds and variations and the pitches in UAE are bound to make his spin harder to pick. He will come into the tournament with match practice from the ongoing Caribbean Premier League and will definitely look to leave a mark and with the self-confidence.
4. Jasprit Bumrah
Arguably the best T20 bowler in the world currently, Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the success cornerstones of the Mumbai Indians in the last few years. He has delivered in crucial games and has been one of the main reasons Mumbai has won 3 titles in the last 5 years. In the last 4 seasons, Bumrah has picked up 71 wickets at an outstanding economy of 7.17 and has been the man Mumbai has turned to in times of crisis. Be it in the powerplay or death overs, Bumrah has been the man for Mumbai. Despite his brilliant performances, Bumrah has not won the purple cap yet. After a prolonged rest, he is coming into the tournament absolutely rejuvenated and this could be the season where he bags the purple cap.
3. Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal has been an absolute star in the IPL. The street-smart leggie has picked up 100 wickets in 84 games and has been an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2014. His biggest ability has been to flight the ball and go for wickets even when batsmen are going after him. He has come close to winning the purple cap twice in 2015 and 2016 where he finished 2nd and 3rd on the list respectively. The most exceptional thing about Chahal has been that he has done exceedingly well despite playing most of his games at one of the best venues for batting, the Chinnaswamy Stadium. This time around, with all the matches being played in UAE on pitches which will heavily favour spinners., Chahal will certainly fancy his chances to take home the purple cap.
2. Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar has made phenomenal progress in the last couple of years. Despite having made his debut in the domestic circuit more than a decade ago, Chahar came under the spotlight when he had a good season for Chennai Super Kings in 2018 picking up 10 wickets. However, he appeared to be a unidimensional, powerplay bowler. But Chahar surprised everyone in 2019 when he arrived as a much complete bowler and ended the tournament with a jaw-dropping 22 wickets in 17 games to finish as the third-highest wicket-taker. In the last 12 months or so, Chahar has also firmly established his spot in the Indian T20 squad as well with 17 wickets in 10 games. He will come into the tournament with a lot of belief and this could turn out to be the season where he ends as the highest wicket-taker.
1. Imran Tahir
If there is one cricketer who has become better with age, that is Imran Tahir. He has aged like fine wine and become a more dangerous bowler with every passing year, performing exceedingly well in all the tournaments across the globe. The fact that he finished as the highest wicket-taker last season with 26 wickets is a testimony to the fact that the man still has a lot of cricket left in him. He has been in good form in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League as well and would surely be looking forward to playing on the slow tracks of UAE. With his googlies and high arm action, he is going to be a threat once again, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the 41-year-old ‘young’ man bags the purple cap this season as well
