Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued to maintain top spot in the IPL 2026 Purple Cap standings after Sunday’s double-header.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with figures of 2/38 from four overs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday and that took his wickets tally to 24 from 13 matches.
The Uttar Pradesh pacer got the wickets of openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, and helped RCB beat Punjab Kings by 23 runs as the defending champions qualified for the playoffs.
In Sunday’s second match, Rajasthan Royals (RR) speedster Jofra Archer too got a couple of wickets as he finished with figures of 2/35 from four overs. He got the wickets of Sahil Parakh and Tristan Stubbs.
However, Jofra Archer’s exploits with the ball, however, went in vain as Delhi Capitals clinched a five-wicket win.
Behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar in second place is Gujarat Titans (GT) speedster Kagiso Rabada, who has taken 21 wickets from 13 matches, and Chennai Super Kings’ Anshul Kamboj is in third place with 19 wickets from 12 matches.
IPL 2026 Purple Cap standings after DC vs RR
With two wickets to his name on Sunday, Jofra Archer now has 17 wickets from 12 matches and he is in fourth place in the standings.
However, he is still significantly distant away from the Purple Cap’s current holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Lucknow Super Giants’ Prince Yadav completes the top five with 16 wickets from 12 matches.
Tight competition in mid-table
The mid-table of the Purple Cap standings, in fact, is pretty tight. In sixth place is Gujarat Titans spinner Rashid Khan with 16 wickets from 13 matches, whereas Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Kartik Tyagi is in seventh place with 16 wickets from 12 matches.
Eshan Malinga (16 wickets), Mohammed Siraj (14 wickets) and Jamie Overton (14 wickets) complete the top 10 of the Purple Cap standings.
Gujarat Titans pacer Prasidh Krishna had won the Purple Cap in IPL 2025, after he finished with 25 wickets from 15 matches. In IPL 2026, Prasidh Krishna has taken 14 wickets from eight matches.
Should Bhuvneshwar Kumar win the Purple Cap at the end of the ongoing season, he will create history by becoming the first-ever bowler to win three Purple Caps. The former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer had won the Purple Cap in consecutive years, in 2016 and 2017.
Apart from Bhuvneshwar, only Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel have won the Purple Cap twice. Bravo and Harshal also share the record for taking most wickets in a single edition of the IPL Both Bravo and Harshal took 32 wickets each, in 2013 and 2024 respectively.
Apart from Bhuvneshwar, Bravo and Harshal, Kagiso Rabada (2020), Yuzvendra Chahal (2022) and Mohammed Shami (2023) are a few of the other many prominent bowlers to have won the Purple Cap award.