Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans (GT) was the highest wicket-taker of the season who took 29 wickets in 17 matches and won the Purple Cap in IPL 2026. Rabada narrowly edged out Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had taken 28 wickets. At No. 3 was Rajasthan Royals’ Jofra Archer, also with 25 wickets.
The race for the Purple Cap in IPL 2026 is always packed with fast bowlers and spinners fighting for their place at the top of the leaderboard. He took out Devdutt Padikkal in the final to bag the award and replace Hendricks, who occupied top spot on that day. In this article, you will find information on IPL 2026 Purple Cap, Who is the leading wicket taker in IPL 2026 Top 10 wicket-taker bowler in IPL 2026 & Power Ranking Of The Purple Cap Kerala Gully with difference between Orange Cap and purple cap holder or winner.
Purple Cap in IPL 2026 – Quick Overview
| Category | Details |
| Purple Cap Winner | Kagiso Rabada |
| Team | Gujarat Titans |
| Matches | 17 |
| Wickets | 29 |
| Best Bowling | 3/25 |
| Bowling Average | 21.59 |
| Economy Rate | 9.68 |
| Strike Rate | 13.38 |
| Second Place | Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
| Bhuvneshwar’s Wickets | 28 |
| Third Place | Jofra Archer |
| Archer’s Wickets | 25 |
What Is the Purple Cap in IPL?
The bowler with the most wickets in a single IPL season wins the Purple Cap. It is one of the most prestigious personal accolades awarded at the tournament.
Bowlers get wickets and Purple Cap leaderboard fluctuates during the competition. The Purple Cap is awarded to the player who ends the season as the leading wicket-taker.
The award is given in recognition of bowlers who contribute a steady stream of wickets over the course of an IPL season.
Purple Cap Holders of IPL 2026
Kagiso Rabada wins the Purple Cap in IPL 2026. He took a total of 29 wickets from 17 matches for Gujarat Titans in the tournament. He finished the season with one wicket more than Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Hindi/gender: Rabada finished IPL 2026 with 28 wickets to his name, joint-top together with Bhuvneshwar. Rabada also claimed the wicket of Devdutt Padikkal, taking his season tally to 29 wickets and positioning him at the top of the wicket takers list.
His 29 wickets in the end made him the leading wicket-taker of IPL 2026.
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Kagiso Rabada IPL 2026 Bowling Record
Kagiso Rabada made a late wicket-taking charge for Gujarat Titans. He featured in all 17 matches, bowled 64.4 overs over the course of the year.
| Statistic | Kagiso Rabada |
| Matches | 17 |
| Innings | 17 |
| Overs | 64.4 |
| Wickets | 29 |
| Runs Conceded | 626 |
| Average | 21.59 |
| Economy | 9.68 |
| Strike Rate | 13.38 |
| Best Bowling | 3/25 |
| Three-Wicket Hauls | 5 |
| Five-Wicket Hauls | 0 |
Rabada occupied the top position on the IPL 2026 bowling statistics as he could pick wickets in different phases of an innings.
Purple Cap in IPL 2026 Top 10
The list of leading wicket-takers in a completed season is represented by The Purple Cap in IPL 2026 Top 10.
| Rank | Player | Team | Matches | Wickets |
| 1 | Kagiso Rabada | Gujarat Titans | 17 | 29 |
| 2 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 16 | 28 |
| 3 | Jofra Archer | Rajasthan Royals | 16 | 25 |
| 4 | Rashid Khan | Gujarat Titans | 17 | 21 |
| 5 | Anshul Kamboj | Chennai Super Kings | 14 | 21 |
| 6 | Eshan Malinga | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 15 | 20 |
| 7 | Mohammed Siraj | Gujarat Titans | 17 | 19 |
| 8 | Rasikh Salam | RCB | 12 | 19 |
| 9 | Kartik Tyagi | Kolkata Knight Riders | 13 | 18 |
| 10 | Jason Holder | Gujarat Titans | 11 | 17 |
According to the official IPL stats, Rabada tops the list with 29 scalps and follows Bhuvneshwar Kumar (28) and Jofra Archer (25).
Purple Cap in IPL 2026 Top 20
The IPL 2026 Purple Cap Top 20 is a more extensive outlook for top bowlers in the tournament.
| Rank | Player | Team | Wickets |
| 1 | Kagiso Rabada | GT | 29 |
| 2 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 28 |
| 3 | Jofra Archer | RR | 25 |
| 4 | Rashid Khan | GT | 21 |
| 5 | Anshul Kamboj | CSK | 21 |
| 6 | Eshan Malinga | SRH | 20 |
| 7 | Mohammed Siraj | GT | 19 |
| 8 | Rasikh Salam | RCB | 19 |
| 9 | Kartik Tyagi | KKR | 18 |
| 10 | Jason Holder | GT | 17 |
| 11 | Prince Yadav | LSG | 16 |
| 12 | Prasidh Krishna | GT | 16 |
| 13 | Sunil Narine | KKR | 15 |
| 14 | Sakib Hussain | SRH | 15 |
| 15 | Josh Hazlewood | RCB | 15 |
| 16 | AM Ghazanfar | MI | 15 |
| 17 | Krunal Pandya | RCB | 14 |
| 18 | Jamie Overton | CSK | 14 |
| 19 | Brijesh Sharma | RR | 14 |
| 20 | Nandre Burger | RR | 14 |
Those last few numbers indicate how stiff the competition was in 2026 IPL’s bowling statistics. Rabada ended up solo at the top but Rashid Khan and Anshul Kamboj ended up with a similar tally of 21 wickets.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Finishes Second in Purple Cap Race
Bhuvneshwar Kumar ended with 28 wickets in IPL 2026 with just one wicket behind Rabada after 16 matches His economy rate of 7.95 was considerably fewer than Rabada’s 9.68.
During the season, Bhuvneshwar also registered his best bowling figures of 4/23. He took 28 wickets in helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru defend their title.
In terms of wickets taken, he also finished second overall and his final bowling figures made him one of the leading performers of the season.
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Jofra Archer Finishes Third
Archer finished IPL 2026 in third place on the Purple Cap leader board among fast bowlers with Rajasthan Royals.
Archer finished as the leading wicket-taker of the season with 25 wickets from 16 matches, including best bowling figures of 3/17. He ended the season with an economy rate of 9.32 as one of Rajasthan’s primary wicket-taking options throughout the tournament.
Rashid Khan and Anshul Kamboj Take 21 Wickets
While 2 players were tied on 21 wickets, those were Rashid Khan from Gujarat Titans and Anshul Kamboj (Chennai Super Kings).
Khan bagged 21 wickets in 17 matches while Kamboj achieved the same feat in just 14 matches. Both players found themselves in the top five of final Purple Cap standings for their performances.
Orange and Purple Caps in IPL 2026
The Orange Cap (the highest run-scorer of the season) and Purple Cap (highest wicket-taker in a season) are among such awards given during the IPL.
| Award | Winner | Team | Record |
| Orange Cap | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan Royals | 776 runs |
| Purple Cap | Kagiso Rabada | Gujarat Titans | 29 wickets |
While Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finished as the leading run scorer in IPL 2026 with a total of 776 runs, Rabada tops the chart for wicket takers with 29 wickets.
So the two awards then differentiate between individual performances — runs scored by a batsman and wickets taken by a bowler as awarded by the Orange Cap and Purple Cap respectively.
How Is the Purple Cap Winner Decided?
The number of wickets taken in the IPL season is one of the biggest reasons The player with the most wickets is awarded the Purple Cap.
The leading wicket-taker in the league stage can change match after match. At the end of the tournament, the final stats decide who wins.
Rabada ended IPL 2026 with 29 scalps, one more than Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 28.
Purple Cap in IPL 2026: Key Records
There were a few standout bowling records from the IPL 2026.
- Kagiso Rabada: 29 wickets
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 28 wickets
- Jofra Archer: 25 wickets
- Rashid Khan: 21 wickets
- Anshul Kamboj: 21 wickets
- Eshan Malinga: 20 wickets
- Mohammed Siraj: 19 wickets
- Rasikh Salam: 19 wickets
- Kartik Tyagi: 18 wickets
- Jason Holder: 17 wickets
Rabada finished as the Purple Cap winner with 29 wickets to his name, while Bhuvneshwar was left just one wicket behind on 28.
Purple Cap in IPL 2026 vs Previous Seasons
Rabada’s 2026 Purple Cap is his second IPL Purple Cap. Earlier, he had ended IPL 2020 as the prize wicket-taker with a tally of 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals.
His 29 wickets in 2026 hence secured a sixth Purple Cap for his illustrious IPL career.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who has Purple Cap in IPL 2026?
Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans won the Purple Cap in IPL 2026 after taking 29 wickets in 17 matches.
2. Who took the most wickets in IPL 2026?
Kagiso Rabada took the most wickets in IPL 2026, finishing with 29 wickets.
3. Who is second in the IPL 2026 Purple Cap list?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished second with 28 wickets in 16 matches.
4. Who is third in the Purple Cap in IPL 2026?
Jofra Archer finished third with 25 wickets for Rajasthan Royals.
5. Who has 21 wickets in IPL 2026?
Rashid Khan and Anshul Kamboj both finished IPL 2026 with 21 wickets.
6. Who won the Orange Cap in IPL 2026?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the Orange Cap after finishing the season with 776 runs.
7. What is the difference between the Orange Cap and Purple Cap?
The Orange Cap is awarded to the leading run-scorer in the IPL, while the Purple Cap is awarded to the leading wicket-taker.
Conclusion
Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans took home the Purple Cap in IPL 2026, as he bagged 29 wickets from 17 games Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a close second with 28 wickets while Jofra Archer came third with 25 wickets. The rest of the top five was completed by Rashid Khan and Anshul Kamboj with 21 each.
Purple Cap final standings show how wicket-taking bowlers did in IPL 2026 Rabada’s superb performances led him to the finish line of the final scoreboard, making him a two-time IPL Purple Cap winner.