5 Contenders for the Purple Cap in IPL 2016

While the T20 format is increasingly becoming a batsman’s game with very little margin of error for the bowlers, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been one such exception in a way that it brought to light some really amazing bowlers who continually grabbed the headlines and won matches single-handedly for their teams. The IPL has ensured an even competition between the bat and ball. Well, at the end of the day, that’s how it should be, isn’t it? After all, the T20 is not only about those humongous sixes, those rocketing fours, but it also is about those lethal Yorkers, those befuddling swinging deliveries, the doosra, the carom ball, the ensnaring googly and so on. To name a few, Lasith Malinga, Sunil Narine, Ravichandran Ashwin have performed consistently well producing the goods for their teams and consistently picking up wickets. The Purple Cap is a prestigious award which is donned only by the highest-wicket taker of a particular season. So now let us look at the 5 top contenders for the Purple Cap award for IPL 2016. 1. Samuel Badree (RCB): West Indies bowler Samuel Badree. (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images) Once a member of the Rajasthan Royals who later became a part of the CSK squad in 2014, the Trinidadian right-arm leg-spinner has been bought by the RCB in this year’s IPL auction. He is in red hot form, and was one of the main reasons why the West Indians lifted up the World T20 trophy. Badree was the second highest wicket-taker in the super 10 stage of the World Cup with 9 wickets, with the best economy rate of 5.39. He is not a big turner of the ball, but can trouble the batsmen with his variations and is very difficult to hit him for boundaries. 2. Mustafizur Rahman (SRH): Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo Source: AFP) Right from the day he made his debut, there was never a time that this Bangladeshi lad was anyway near to being out of form. He has been ever reliable and his mindboggling stats don’t lie. Mustafizur Rahman is the first player to win the ‘Man of the Match’ award on both Test as well as ODI debuts. In T20s as well, he has been equally amazing. His incredible dexterity in bowling slow deliveries and deadly cutters make him a wicket-taker on any surface. He was also the second highest wicket-taker in the super 10 stage of this year’s WT20 which includes a fifer. Who are the all-rounders to watch out for? – 10 All-rounders to watch out for in the IPL 2016 3. Ashish Nehra (SRH): Ashish Nehra CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ashish Nehra performed exceedingly well for India in the recently concluded World T20 and made the cut in the ICC’s World T20 XI. He surprised many critics by his superb bowling considering that he made his comeback at 36. One can agree with me if I say that Nehra is one of the most underrated bowlers of our generation. In the last IPL season, he picked up 22 wickets in 16 games with a really good economy rate of 7.24. He also performed well against Australia and helped India whitewash Australia 3-0 at their home turf. Ashish Nehra has been for a while proving that age is no constraint for even a fast bowler in cricket. He is still fit as a fiddle even at this age in his professional cricketing career. The duo of Nehra-Rahman will be an interesting one to look forward to. 4. James Faulkner (GL): James Faulkner. (Photo Source: BCCI) The Aussie has always attracted attention with his good performances in the IPL, and in this season too, the onus will be on him to deliver the goods for his new team. His wicket taking ability makes him a force to reckon with and his beguiling back of the hand slow deliveries would cause problems to most batsmen. Faulkner has been in pretty good form coming into the tournament. He a took a fifer against Pakistan in the recently concluded World T20, which is the first by an Australian in the shortest format. 5. Dwayne Bravo (GL): Dwayne Bravo CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) Dwayne Bravo has already lit up the tournament with his “Champion” dance in the IPL opening ceremony. Coming into the tournament as the newly crowned World T20 champions, Bravo will hope to continue his good run for his new team, the Gujarat Lions. Bravo was the winner of the Purple Cap award last year eclipsing the likes of Lasith Malinga. He may be a touch expensive at times leaking runs up front, but he indemnifies for that with some sensible death bowling. His slow deliveries and off-cutters are tough to tackle. Who are the U19 stars to watch out for? – 6 India U19 players to watch out for in IPL 2016

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5 Contenders for the Purple Cap in IPL 2016

2. Mustafizur Rahman (SRH):

Who are the all-rounders to watch out for? – 10 All-rounders to watch out for in the IPL 2016

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