Kagiso Rabada wins the IPL 2026 Purple Cap: Key stats
What's the story
Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Kagiso Rabada has won the prestigious Purple Cap in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Rabada claimed 1/44 in the IPL 2026 final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Ahmedabad. His solitary wicket helped him get past RCB's Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who finished the season with 28 scalps. Notably, Bhuvi managed 2/29 in the final. Here are further details and stats.
Wickets
Rabada pips Bhuvneshwar to win the Purple Cap
Rabada and Bhuvi pushed one another in the race for the Purple Cap which was finally decided in the finale. South Africa fast bowler Rabada claimed 29 wickets from 17 matches at an average of 21.58. His economy rate was 9.68. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar finished with 28 scalps from 16 games at 17.89. Jofra Archer (25) was the only other bowler with 25-plus wickets.
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3rd GT bowler to win the Purple Cap
Rabada became the 3rd GT bowler to win the Purple Cap in IPL. Mohammed Shami won the award in IPL 2023, having claimed 28 wickets. Last season, Prasidh Krishna won the award. He managed 25 wickets.
2nd award
2nd Purple Cap award for Rabada
Rabada has claimed his 2nd Purple Cap award in the IPL. His previous win came in the 2020 season for Delhi Capitals (DC). He managed 30 wickets that season. Meanwhile, Rabada is now the 4th bowler to win multiple Purple Caps after Dwayne Bravo (2013, 2015), Bhuvneshwar (2016, 2017) and Harshal Patel (2021, 2024).