The preparations for IPL 2025 are heightening ahead of the tournament as its start looms closer. Here's who could be in contention to win the Purple Cap this year.
The competition will be intense to finish at the top of the wicket-taking standings in this year's IPL. Last year saw Harshal Patel win the Purple Cap after taking 24 wickets in the competition. Three players have won the award more than once, which Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dwayne Bravo and Patel all having won it twice.
Six previous winners will compete in this year's competition, which will see them compete across two months for the cap.
IPL 2025: Who are the contenders for the Purple Cap?
The outright favourite to win the Purple Cap this year is Jasprit Bumrah, backed at 9/1 on Betfair. The leading India pacer has never won the award, and finished third in the wicket-taker standings last year. As part of a strong Mumbai Indians attack, teammate Trent Boult is one of the favourite non-India players to win the award, with Betfair giving him odds of 16/1.
The best-backed overseas player, however, is Rashid Khan, who is only ranked behind Bumrah in the odds standings, backed at 12/1 on Betfair. Other likely options are Varun Chakravarthy, who starred for India in both their series against England and their Champions Trophy win, as well as Arshdeep Singh, who is backed at 14/1.
IPL 2025: Who will win the Purple Cap?
Well the most logical option to back would be Bumrah. Pacers have won the Purple Cap more often than spinners in recent history, and Bumrah comes into the tournament on top form. However, Bumrah will miss the start of MI's tournament to recover from an injury, limiting his chances of winning. Instead, watchers might choose to back Arshdeep, who recently became India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is, and is backed at 14/1 on Betfair. Another good bet could be on Mohammad Shami, who has odds of 16/1 on Betfair. Shami is back firing on all cylinders after injury lay-off, and could be well-placed to repeat his Purple Cap season in 2023.
As for overseas players, while Mitchell Starc is one of the top-rated by the bookies, he struggled to re-find his T20 form in last year's tournament, and a better bet would be on the likes of Boult.
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