Highest Wicket Taker in IPL History: Most Wickets in One Season

The Indian Premier League has been a way for the cricketers to show their skill sets against the best players present in the world. Moreover, with the players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Jos Buttler, and many more high-profile batters present in the league, it becomes difficult for the bowlers to execute their skills well. And this is where the IPL peaks when the batters and bowlers look to dominate each other. Moreover, with the game tilting more toward the batters, it has become tough for the bowlers to take wickets. But the bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and many more, the battle has been intense in the tournament. Here we will discuss the bowlers who have taken the most wickets in IPL Season. Now, if we are talking about the best bowlers in the IPL, then Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel have to be there as they are the joint highest wicket-takers in IPL in one season. However, Harshal Patel has a better average and hence he holds the record of 32 wickets in a single IPL season.

Award for the highest wicket-taker in IPL in one season

The Purple Cap is presented to the leading wicket-taker in the IPL who has taken the most wickets in IPL in one season. Priority is given in the awarding of the cap so the bowler with the most wickets should be awarded the Purple Cap first and later the other players in accordance. If more than one bowler ties for the honour then the bowler who has a better economy rate should be awarded first. If he/she also ties again with another bowler, they will share the cap. The Purple Cap is not as popular as the Orange Cap – which was introduced in 2008 as a separate prize for the leading wicket-taker during a single season of the IPL. The Purple Cap is awarded at the end of the tournament to the player who has taken the most number of wickets through the entire tournament, and not just in one or two matches of play.

List of Most Wickets in IPL Season

To be effective, a batsman is dependent on the efforts of another player, who wields the ball. Bowlers would usually make one or two errors of bowling during the game which could lead to disastrous consequences if they are not taken care of at the right time. The purple cap was made to present to a bowler who took the highest wickets in a season and most of the time it came with its best-earning prize money as well. Thus, awarding the bowlers to execute the skills well is precious as it will boost their confidence and hence will allow them to bowl even better in the upcoming games.

Season	Player	Mat	Wkts
2008	Sohail Tanvir (RR)	11	22
2009	R. P. Singh (DEC)	16	23
2010	Pragyan Ojha (DEC)	16	21
2011	Lasith Malinga (MI)	16	28
2012	Morne Morkel (DD)	16	25
2013	Dwayne Bravo (CSK)	18	32
2014	Mohit Sharma (CSK)	16	23
2015	Dwayne Bravo (CSK)	16	26
2016	Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH)	17	23
2017	Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH)	14	26
2018	Andrew Tye (KXIP)	14	24
2019	Imran Tahir (CSK)	17	26
2020	Kagiso Rabada (DC)	17	30
2021	Harshal Patel (RCB)	15	32
2022	Yuzvendra Chahal (RR)	17	27
2023	Mohammed Shami (GT)	17	28

1. Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel was the main feature in RCB’s bowling throughout the IPL season. Many times, he was quoted saying that his main aim was to help his team get their rightful place in the top 4 positions of the league. The year 2021 saw the best of Harshal Patel as he tied his record of 32 wickets in a single IPL season. He is a right-arm medium pacer and has good control over line and length. Furthermore, he took the highest number of wickets in the ipl season and came out to be the winner of the Purple Cap. But his team wasn't able to go into Qualifier 2 and hence were eliminated in the eliminator. But he was surely an asset for the team and hence they decided to retain him for the next few seasons.

2. Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo’s performance in the year 2013 was incredible, in which he took 32 wickets in the single IPL season of the 6th edition. He was one of the most effective fast bowlers throughout the season, he took 4 wickets in an inning five times and more than 3 wickets four times out of 18 matches. One of the most amazing cricket players who has entertained millions with his unique style of bowling and batting is Dwayne Bravo. Moreover, the season saw a new revolution incricketas many young and talented players appeared on the ground and made the IPL the most popular tournament in the world. These talented players are still serving their teams until today.

3. Kagiso Rabada

Rabada is generally an attacking bowler and has a very wide range of deliveries, which he can bowl at a high pace. He can bowl both yorker and slower balls with the same level of accuracy. His most effective delivery is the off-cutter, which goes away from the right-handed batsmen and hits their leg stump. His extraordinary efforts helped the Delhi Capitals to reach the finals in the year 2020. Moreover, he made sure that the team came up well in the season and hence he became the ipl highest wicket taker in one season. For the upcoming seasons, Delhi managed to retain him but in 2022, they had to let him go because of his form was not so great.

4. Lasith Malinga

Sri Lankan cricketer Lasith Malinga has been playing for Mumbai Indians for years and has been a great asset to his team by taking 170 wickets. He is ranked as the fourth highest wicket-taker in IPL history which includes both men and women cricketers. His bowling style is fast-medium with a well-disguised slower ball delivery, which has made him one of the most fearsome bowlers and a nightmare for batsmen. Recently MI released Lasith Malinga from their roster due to his lengthy injury but his services shall be remembered when the team wins matches and trophies in the future. Now, he has taken retirement from the game and hence he will be looking to take up the coaching rules.

5. James Faulkner

Faulkner has used his height and pace to the best of his ability. He used to take wickets with the slower ball which deceives batsmen very easily. Moreover, in the IPL, he has been the stalwart for the Rajasthan Royals which has made him a superstar of the game there. Moreover, in 2013, he performed really well with the new ball and ended up as the leading wicket-taker at 28 wickets with a good economy of 6.75 and an average of 14.85 per match. James Faulkner said that he is now looking forward to getting selected in future matches so that he can retain all three formats of the game and can perform consistently as well.