Purple Cap in IPL 2023: Who has Picked Most Wickets in 16th Season of Indian Premier League?

A primary reason behind Gujarat Titans‘ success in two consecutive seasons of the Indian Premier League is their bowling prowess. As cliched as it sounds, the notion of “bowlers win tournaments” has been proved factually correct more often than not irrespective of the format.

Although not among the highest wicket-takers in what was a title winning season for them, Gujarat fast bowler Mohammed Shami and vice-captain Rashid Khan were their highest wicket-takers in IPL 2022. In the ongoing 16th season, the two currently top the list of highest wicket-takers on the back of picking 23 wickets each in the 13 matches that they’ve played till now.

With IPL 2023 into its business end now, bowlers have managed to dominate batters on a regular basis especially due to the wear and tear of pitches across the country.

The most recent match of the season between Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a rare occasion of one bowler picking a five-wicket haul and two bowlers dismissing four batters each. While this happened at a Narendra Modi Stadium pitch where a batter even managed to score a century, pitches in cities such as Lucknow, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad have not remained conducive for stroke-making as the season has progressed.

Set to be remembered for the respective comebacks of several veteran bowlers, IPL 2023 will also be known for spinners calling the shots on most occasions. Not a surprise by any means for a T20 competition being played in India, readers must note that four out of the Top Five bowlers with most wickets are spin bowlers. Furthermore, three of them are conventional right-arm leg-spinners.

The balance, however, is maintained when the Top 10 wicket-takers are considered on the back of the presence of five pacers and spinners each at this point in time.

Purple Cap in IPL 2023

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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