After the one-sided encounter between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31, there were no changes in the top five bowlers in contention for the purple cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. MI's young left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar entered the list of top 10 wicket-takers in the ongoing season with a record-breaking four-wicket haul to rattle the KKR batting lineup but is far from making it to the top five.
Currently, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm chinaman bowler Noor Ahmad holds the orange cap with nine wickets from three games. However, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) replacement player Shardul Thakur is in hunt as he has six wickets from just two games. Thakur will have a chance to move up the list or even leave young Afghan spinner behind when LSG go up against Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) at their homeground on April 1.
IPL 2025 Purple Cap Standings:
Position |
Player |
Wickets |
Matches |
Economy |
Average |
Best bowling figues |
| 1. | Noor Ahmad (CSK) | 9 | 3 | 6.83 | 9.11 | 4/18 |
| 2. | Mitchell Starc (DC) | 8 | 2 | 10.04 | 9.62 | 5/35 |
| 3. | Khaleel Ahmed (CSK) | 6 | 3 | 7.91 | 15.83 | 3/29 |
| 4. | Shardul Thakur (LSG) | 6 | 2 | 8.83 | 8.83 | 4/34 |
| 5. | Kuldeep Yadav (DC) | 5 | 2 | 5.25 | 8.40 | 3/22 |
Thakur calls for 'fair pitches'
In the fast-paced game tilted in favour of batters, Thakur has called for fair pitches for bowlers to have a shot. Lucknow pitch is known to assist bowlers and Thakur may benefit from it. He has been in good form with the new ball in the absence of injured LSG pacers. He replaced left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan in the team.
"All that the bowlers are asking is to prepare the pitch in such a manner that the game hangs in balance, and it should not be just one-sided where batters are coming and smashing us. Because all we want is a fair chance and fair opportunity in the game," the fast-bowling all-rounder said ahead of LSG's first home game of the season.
No PBKS bowler in hunt so far
Meanwhile, now PBKS bowler is even in the top 10 as they have played just one game against Gujarat Titans (GT) which turned out to be a high-scoring one. Their star left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh took two wickets for 36 runs in PBKS' win over GT in Ahmedabad.