Image: IPL 2026 Purple Cap Leaderboard led by Kagiso Rabada
The IPL 2026 Purple Cap goes to the bowler who takes the most wickets across the entire season. In 2026, it belongs to Kagiso Rabada — the Gujarat Titans pace spearhead who led the bowling charts from the middle of the season all the way to the Final.
Rabada took 29 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 21.58 and a strike rate of 13.37. He bowled 64.4 overs across the season — more than any other bowler in the top 11. His 626 runs conceded across those overs reflects the toll of carrying GT’s attack in every match from powerplay to death overs.
Directly behind him sits Bhuvneshwar Kumar of RCB — the most economical bowler in the top five. Bhuvneshwar took 28 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of just 7.95 — the best of any top-10 bowler this season. That economy rate in T20 cricket, across 63 overs of high-pressure IPL cricket, is a remarkable achievement for a 34-year-old seamer.
Third is Jofra Archer of Rajasthan Royals with 25 wickets. Fourth and fifth are occupied by GT’s Rashid Khan and CSK’s Anshul Kamboj — both with 21 wickets. Notably, Gujarat Titans placed three bowlers in the top 10 — Rabada (1st), Rashid Khan (4th), Mohammed Siraj (7th), and Jason Holder (10th) — the most of any team. That bowling depth is the primary reason GT reached the IPL 2026 Final. Check the official IPL 2026 stats for complete season bowling data.
“The IPL 2026 Purple Cap Leaderboard is not just wickets, it is a battlefield of skill and nerve, where every breakthrough shifts momentum, every spell carries pressure, and only the fiercest bowlers endure cricket’s relentless race for greatness.”
📖 See how the Orange Cap race unfolded alongside the Purple Cap in our IPL 2026 Orange Cap leaderboard
| Pos | Player | Team | Wkts | Mat | Inns | Ov | Runs | BBI | Avg | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 🟣 | Kagiso Rabada | GT | 29 | 17 | 17 | 64.4 | 626 | 25/3 | 21.58 | 9.68 | 13.37 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 28 | 16 | 16 | 63.0 | 501 | 23/4 | 17.89 | 7.95 | 13.50 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Jofra Archer | RR | 25 | 16 | 16 | 60.0 | 559 | 17/3 | 22.36 | 9.31 | 14.40 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Rashid Khan | GT | 21 | 17 | 17 | 56.5 | 516 | 33/4 | 24.57 | 9.07 | 16.23 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Anshul Kamboj | CSK | 21 | 14 | 14 | 50.2 | 530 | 22/3 | 25.23 | 10.52 | 14.38 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Eshan Malinga | SRH | 20 | 15 | 15 | 54.2 | 507 | 32/4 | 25.35 | 9.33 | 16.30 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Mohammed Siraj | GT | 19 | 17 | 17 | 62.0 | 562 | 26/3 | 29.57 | 9.06 | 19.57 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Rasikh Dar | RCB | 19 | 12 | 12 | 42.5 | 405 | 24/4 | 21.31 | 9.45 | 13.52 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Kartik Tyagi | KKR | 18 | 14 | 13 | 51.0 | 498 | 22/3 | 27.66 | 9.76 | 17.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Jason Holder | GT | 17 | 11 | 11 | 38.2 | 290 | 24/4 | 17.05 | 7.56 | 13.52 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Prince Yadav | LSG | 16 | 14 | 14 | 52.0 | 459 | 32/3 | 28.68 | 8.82 | 19.50 | 0 | 0 |
Table: IPL 2026 Purple Cap Leaderboard
Insight 1 — Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s economy is the real story.
Kagiso Rabada won the Purple Cap with 29 wickets — one more than Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But economy tells a different story. Bhuvneshwar conceded just 7.95 runs per over across 63 overs of T20 cricket. In IPL 2026, where the average first innings score was 193, an economy of 7.95 means he was giving away 40 fewer runs than the tournament average every time he bowled his full four overs. That is not just good bowling — it is match-defining restraint in the most high-scoring IPL season ever.
Insight 2 — Gujarat Titans had four bowlers in the top 10.
Rabada (1st, 29 wickets), Rashid Khan (4th, 21 wickets), Mohammed Siraj (7th, 19 wickets), and Jason Holder (10th, 17 wickets) — GT placed four bowlers in the top 10. Their combined 86 wickets from just four bowlers is the highest contribution by a single team’s bowling group in IPL history. This is the structural reason GT made the Final despite losing Qualifier 1 by 92 runs — their bowling attack could defend and attack in equal measure.
Insight 3 — Jason Holder is the most underrated bowler of IPL 2026.
Position 10. Only 11 matches. Economy of 7.56 — the best of all 11 bowlers in this list. Holder took 17 wickets at an average of 17.05 in just 38.2 overs. He played fewer games than any other bowler in the top 10 and still finished with the best economy and second-best average. If GT win the IPL 2026 Final, Holder’s contribution will be among the most quietly decisive in the tournament’s history.
IPL 20226 Orange Cap Leaderboard is lead by Kagiso Rabada.
Bhubaneshwar Kumar got 28 wickets from 16 matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans won the IPL 2026 Purple Cap with 29 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 21.58 and an economy of 9.68. He bowled 64.4 overs — the most of any bowler in the top 11 — across the full season including the Final.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 28 wickets in 16 matches for RCB in IPL 2026 at an economy of 7.95 — the best economy rate of any top-five Purple Cap holder this season. His best figures were 23/4. He finished second in the IPL 2026 Purple Cap standings.
Gujarat Titans had four bowlers in the top 10 — Kagiso Rabada (1st, 29 wickets), Rashid Khan (4th, 21 wickets), Mohammed Siraj (7th, 19 wickets), and Jason Holder (10th, 17 wickets). No other team placed more than two bowlers in the top 10.
Jason Holder of Gujarat Titans has the best economy rate in the IPL 2026 Purple Cap top 11 — just 7.56 runs per over across 38.2 overs in 11 matches. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is second with 7.95. Both are significantly below the tournament average economy of 9.50-plus.
No bowler in the IPL 2026 Purple Cap top 11 took a five-wicket haul. The best individual figures were Rashid Khan’s 33/4 for GT. Four bowlers — Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Eshan Malinga, Rasikh Dar, and Jason Holder — each took one four-wicket haul during the season.
The IPL 2026 Purple Cap race was dominated by pace throughout the season. Rabada’s 29 wickets for GT, Bhuvneshwar’s 28 for RCB, and Archer’s 25 for RR formed the three most impactful bowling seasons of IPL 2026. What makes this leaderboard unique is the GT dominance — four bowlers in the top 10 gave Shubman Gill a bowling arsenal that no other captain could match. Read our full IPL 2026 Final breakdown to see how Rabada, Rashid, Siraj, and Holder performed together on the biggest night of the season.
