IPL 2026 Purple Cap: Anshul Kamboj Leads With 13 Wickets — Updated Top 10 After LSG vs RR (April 23, 2026)

🟣 IPL 2026 PURPLE CAP — LIVE STANDINGS
Current Holder: Anshul Kamboj (CSK)
Wickets: 13 | Matches: 7 | Economy: 7.89 | Average: 14.23
Last Updated: April 23, 2026 — after Match 32 (LSG vs RR)
Next Match: CSK vs MI | April 23, 2026 | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

The IPL 2026 Purple Cap is awarded to the bowler with the most wickets in the tournament. This leaderboard is updated after every match and tracks the top wicket takers in IPL 2026, including economy rate, bowling average, and best bowling figures. Fans searching for “Purple Cap holder today” or “most wickets in IPL 2026” will find the latest live rankings right here.

Updated April 23, 2026 — after LSG vs RR, Match 32 at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow.

The race for the IPL 2026 Purple Cap saw a dramatic reshuffle on April 22 as Rajasthan Royals thumped Lucknow Super Giants by 40 runs in Lucknow. Jofra Archer’s devastating 3/20 rocketed him into a share of second place, while Ravi Bishnoi added another scalp to climb level with Prasidh Krishna and Prince Yadav. CSK’s Anshul Kamboj remains at the summit with 13 wickets, but the chasing pack is now a tightly bunched four-way tie on 11 wickets — making the IPL Purple Cap leaderboard one of the most unpredictable sub-plots of the season.

While the Orange Cap rewards the season’s highest run-scorer, the Purple Cap belongs to the bowler who does the most damage with the ball. That contest — in 2026 — is shaping up to be as fiercely competitive as any in recent memory, with pace and spin both well represented across the top ten.

Also follow the IPL 2026 Orange Cap leaderboard and the IPL 2026 Points Table for a complete picture of the tournament standings.

IPL 2026 Purple Cap Standings — Top 10 Wicket Takers (Updated April 23, 2026)

Stats updated after Match 32 (LSG vs RR), April 22, 2026. Economy and average figures for Archer, Bishnoi, and Prince Yadav are approximate pending full official data from BCCI/ESPNcricinfo.

Live Update: This page is updated after every IPL 2026 match with the latest Purple Cap standings, wicket tallies, and rankings to ensure real-time accuracy for fans and fantasy cricket players.

Live Update: How LSG vs RR (Match 32) Shook the Purple Cap Leaderboard

Match 32 at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow was the most impactful single game for the IPL 2026 Purple Cap leaderboard since the season began. Rajasthan Royals restricted Lucknow Super Giants to 119 chasing 160, and three bowlers directly altered their standings in one evening.

Jofra Archer (RR) — 3/20: The England quick was at his clinical best, using steep bounce and searing pace to dismantle LSG’s middle order. His final over was the kill-shot — removing Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan to wrap up the innings. Those three wickets lifted Archer from 8 to 11 wickets and pushed him into a share of third place, overtaking Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the process.

Ravi Bishnoi (RR) — 1 wicket: Bishnoi picked up Himmat Singh with a faster, straighter delivery that crashed into the stumps, nudging his season tally to 11 wickets. He is now level with Prasidh Krishna, Archer, and within one wicket of Prince Yadav at the very top of the chasing pack.

Prince Yadav (LSG) — wickets in the match: Even in a losing cause for LSG, Prince Yadav continued his remarkable run of consistency, picking up the wicket of Riyan Parag (and possibly more — full figures to be confirmed) to push his tally to approximately 12 wickets. He remains the only bowler this season to have taken at least one wicket in every IPL 2026 appearance.

Kamboj was uninvolved in Match 32 — CSK were not playing — so his lead at the top held firm at 13. But with four bowlers now on 11 wickets and Prince Yadav closing in at around 12, the gap between first and fifth is the smallest it has been all season.

Top Wicket Takers in IPL 2026 — Live Race Analysis

The top wicket takers in IPL 2026 are stacked between 11 and 13 wickets after 32 league matches. At the halfway point of the season, history says the eventual Purple Cap winner will need somewhere between 22 and 32 wickets. Prasidh Krishna set the recent bar at 25 in 2025; Harshal Patel and Dwayne Bravo remain the joint all-time record holders at 32 wickets each.

Kamboj’s pace of 13 wickets in 7 games — nearly 1.86 per match — projects to around 26 wickets across a full 14-game tournament, which is historically a winning number. But the four-way tie at 11 behind him means a single poor outing from Kamboj and a match-winning haul from any of his rivals could see the lead change hands before the next update. The IPL Purple Cap leaderboard has rarely been this tightly contested at Match 32 stage.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserves special mention at sixth. His economy of 8.33 is the best among the bowlers ranked fourth through tenth, and he remains the most reliable wicket-taker at death on flat pitches. If RCB’s run to the playoffs continues, Bhuvi could play ten or more more matches and realistically threaten 18–20 wickets by season end.

Anshul Kamboj — Why He Still Leads the IPL 2026 Purple Cap Race

Anshul Kamboj remains CSK’s most dangerous bowling weapon and the undisputed IPL 2026 Purple Cap holder. The right-arm seamer from Haryana generates sharp movement off the pitch in both directions — his outswinger draws the edge while the incoming delivery dismantles the stumps. In a format that often rewards flat-track hitting, Kamboj’s ability to extract seam movement on any surface has set him apart from the pack.

His best spell of the season — 3/22 against Sunrisers Hyderabad — underlined his skill at the death. He dismissed Heinrich Klaasen and then removed Liam Livingstone and Shivang Kumar in successive overs to win the match for CSK almost single-handedly. With CSK still likely to play seven or more league matches, Kamboj has both the form and the opportunity to extend his lead significantly in the second half.

Prince Yadav — The Uncapped LSG Sensation Chasing the Cap

No bowler in the most wickets in IPL 2026 list has been as consistent as Prince Yadav. The LSG right-arm pacer has taken at least one wicket in every single IPL 2026 appearance — a remarkable record that even seasoned international bowlers rarely achieve in T20 cricket. He bowls at a full length and relies on swing rather than raw pace, making him difficult to dispatch cleanly in the powerplay and at death alike.

His 2/25 in the high-scoring PBKS vs LSG match (454 total runs) was a standout effort in adverse conditions, and his performance against RR in Match 32 continued that trend. At approximately 12 wickets going into the second half of the league stage, Yadav is the most credible challenger to Kamboj’s throne. If LSG can stop their losing streak and reach the playoffs, a final tally of 20-plus wickets is very achievable for this uncapped sensation.

Jofra Archer — The Fastest Climber in the Purple Cap Race

Jofra Archer’s 3/20 against LSG in Match 32 was the single biggest individual bowling performance to reshape the IPL 2026 Purple Cap standings in recent weeks. The England quick, who has stayed injury-free throughout the tournament, was operating at 147 kph-plus in Lucknow — a pace that LSG’s middle order simply could not handle. From eighth place just 72 hours ago, Archer is now tied third with 11 wickets alongside Prasidh Krishna and Ravi Bishnoi.

What makes Archer particularly dangerous in the second half of the season is the variety he brings — a yorker at 148 kph, a bouncer that hurries even the best batters, and a subtle off-cutter that produces false shots on slower pitches. If RR reach the playoffs, Archer could realistically end the season with 20–24 wickets, and any sustained run of form could see him take the Purple Cap outright.

Who Can Win the IPL 2026 Purple Cap? — Predictions

With 42 league matches still remaining, any bowler in the current top six has a realistic shot at claiming the most wickets in IPL 2026. Here is how the contenders stack up:

Anshul Kamboj (CSK) — Favourite: A one-wicket lead is almost nothing in a tournament this long. But Kamboj’s consistency — he has not gone wicketless in any of his seven appearances — makes him the favourite. If CSK keep posting competitive totals and his seam movement holds on flat decks in the second half, 24–26 wickets is a realistic projection.

Prince Yadav (LSG) — Dangerous: No bowler is in better rhythm. If his consistency record holds — and there’s every reason to think it will — he is the most likely to overtake Kamboj. His wickets-per-match ratio of roughly 1.71 is among the best in the tournament.

Prasidh Krishna (GT) — Defending Champion: Krishna has played only five matches but already has 11 wickets, giving him the best wickets-per-match ratio among the top five. He won the Purple Cap in 2025 with 25 wickets in 15 games. If GT play in all remaining league matches and Krishna stays fit, he has both the ability and the template to defend his title.

Jofra Archer (RR) — Wildcard: The fastest climber in the standings after Match 32, Archer is the wildcard. Form + fitness + match days remaining make him a genuine outside contender to take the cap — particularly if RR go deep in the tournament.

A realistic final tally for the IPL 2026 Purple Cap winner: 23–27 wickets.

More IPL 2026 Live Stats and Rankings

For a complete view of the IPL 2026 individual awards race, explore the IPL 2026 Orange Cap leaderboard — where Heinrich Klaasen and Virat Kohli are locked in a battle for the highest run-scorer award. You can also track every team’s position in the IPL 2026 Points Table, updated after each game. For fantasy cricket players, our dedicated Dream11 predictions section uses the latest Purple Cap and Orange Cap data to identify the best picks each match day.

IPL 2026 Purple Cap — Trending Searches Today

Fans searching for the latest IPL Purple Cap leaderboard are also looking for:

• IPL 2026 Purple Cap holder today — Anshul Kamboj (CSK), 13 wickets, as of April 23, 2026
• Most wickets in IPL 2026 — Anshul Kamboj leads with 13, followed by Prince Yadav (approx 12), Prasidh Krishna, Jofra Archer, and Ravi Bishnoi (all on 11)
• Top wicket takers IPL 2026 updated — Full top 10 list in the table above, updated after Match 32
• Jofra Archer wickets IPL 2026 — 11 wickets from 6 matches after 3/20 vs LSG on April 22
• Prince Yadav IPL 2026 wickets — Approximately 12 wickets in 7 matches; wicket in every game this season
• Prasidh Krishna Purple Cap 2026 — 11 wickets from 5 matches; defending champion with best wickets-per-match ratio in top 5
• Anshul Kamboj CSK IPL 2026 — 13 wickets, economy 7.89, best bowling 3/22 vs SRH
• IPL 2026 Purple Cap prize money — ₹10 lakhs, awarded to the tournament’s highest wicket-taker at the end of the season
• Purple Cap winners list IPL all seasons — Full history from 2008 to 2025 in the table below
• IPL 2026 best bowler today — See the live Purple Cap standings table above for the updated leaderboard

IPL Purple Cap Winners — All Seasons (2008–2026)

The Purple Cap has been claimed by 16 different bowlers across 18 completed seasons. Dwayne Bravo, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Harshal Patel have each won it twice. Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains the only bowler to win the award in consecutive seasons (2016 and 2017), while Bravo and Patel share the all-time single-season record of 32 wickets.

The all-time single-season record of 32 wickets is jointly held by Dwayne Bravo (2013) and Harshal Patel (2021). Kagiso Rabada is the only other bowler to have crossed 30 wickets in a single IPL season (30 in 2020).

Frequently Asked Questions — IPL 2026 Purple Cap

Who has the Purple Cap in IPL 2026?

Anshul Kamboj of Chennai Super Kings holds the IPL 2026 Purple Cap with 13 wickets from 7 matches, as of April 23, 2026 (after Match 32, LSG vs RR). He leads the standings ahead of Prince Yadav (approx 12 wickets), and Prasidh Krishna, Jofra Archer, and Ravi Bishnoi — all on 11 wickets.

What happened to the Purple Cap standings after the LSG vs RR match?

Match 32 (LSG vs RR, April 22) was the biggest shake-up in the IPL 2026 Purple Cap race in recent weeks. Jofra Archer took 3/20 to jump from 8th to joint 3rd with 11 wickets. Ravi Bishnoi added a wicket to also reach 11. Prince Yadav took at least one wicket for LSG to push his season tally to approximately 12. Anshul Kamboj was not playing and his lead of 13 wickets remained unchanged.

What is the prize money for the IPL 2026 Purple Cap?

The IPL Purple Cap carries a prize of ₹10 lakhs, awarded at the end of the season to the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. The cap itself is worn in the field by the current leader throughout the tournament.

Who has won the most Purple Caps in IPL history?

Three bowlers share the record of winning the Purple Cap twice: Dwayne Bravo (2013 and 2015), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2016 and 2017), and Harshal Patel (2021 and 2024). Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only bowler to win it in back-to-back seasons.

How many wickets does the Purple Cap winner typically take in an IPL season?

The winning tally has ranged from 21 (Pragyan Ojha, 2010) to 32 (Bravo 2013, Harshal 2021). In recent seasons the bar has settled between 24 and 28 wickets. Prasidh Krishna won IPL 2025 with 25 wickets. Based on current pace and form, a realistic winning tally for IPL 2026 is projected at 23–27 wickets.