T-20 as the Emerging Pioneer of Cricket Forms and Criticism
Purple Cap: With more and more critics holding Twenty 20 perpetrator for killing the test fever among spectators and landing test players to a deserted stadium, there is something about T-20 that doesn’t fail to lose its charm that is its handiness. It attracts people of all ages and nationalities and with that, it procures money that was once jaw dropped at in cricket. Contrary to the lengthiness of test, it was made for commerciality and unfathomable time friendliness. T20 leagues have the great virtue of a simple structure: easy to understand leagues that culminate in a champion.
John Nicholson in his column for Cricket 365 writes, “Stop calling it cricket. Cricket is the last thing that T20 is.” “It should be called ‘Whack-A-Ball’ or ‘Slugfest’.” Whereas, England coach Trevor Bayliss supposes that Twenty- twenty matches should only be played only between Franchises and not Nations. As a matter of fact, cricket had never been commercialized in its 250 years history as it became after the inception of Indian Premier League.
About IPL and its Popularity | Purple Cap
Talking about the most famous Twenty 20 leagues in the world, Indian Premier League secures the first position in terms of viewership, popularity, attracting advertisements and sponsorships. The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007, to counter a rebellious league namely Indian Cricket League. ICL attracted players from all countries for playing an event which had not been actually acknowledged by ICC and that led to the rise of cohesion among all the test playing nations. It was commissioned by Lalit Modi, the founder. More commercialized, more entertainment ensured, IPL has changed the scenario of entire cricket. The IPL is the most-attended cricket league in the world and it currently ranks sixth among all sports leagues. The Brand value of IPL was estimated about $5.3billion according to Duff and Phelps in 2017.
Regarding IPL’s contribution in India’s economy, 2015 season of IPL contributed INR 11.5 Billion to India’s GDP in that economic year. Keeping, these accolades aside, IPL has also been impeccable at innovation and transferring its achievements to various categories of awards in the format.
One of such epitome has been the introduction to Purple Cap in the IPL history. It was one of the awards that made IPL an excellent platform to encourage young enthusiasts to exhibit impeccable performances.
Purple Cap: History
Purple Cap was introduced on 13th of May, 2008 after the introduction of the Orange cup on 25th of April in the same year primarily for the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. The player with the maximum number of wickets during the course of the season would wear the cap throughout the season while fielding and the overall wicket taker gets the hold of the cap after the conclusion of the season. In case of a tie, a bowler with a superior economy rate would take hold of the cap.
The then IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said of the initiative, “We have seen over the course of the inaugural season of the League so far that bowlers have just as important a role to play in winning T20 matches as batsmen do.”
The opening season saw someone stunning walk away with the pride, as Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir was the star of the season. Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is the current Purple Cap holder in the tenth edition of Indian Premier League. Dwayne Bravo holds the record of taking the most number of wickets till date in the year 2015 of IPL Season 8.
Top Recipients of Purple Cap over the Years
- Sohail Tanvir
He was signed up for the second round of Indian Premier League’s players’ auction by the Jaipur Franchise for representing Rajasthan Royals on 11th of March, 2008. Having several records against him for the first season, namely a match-winning six wickets against Chennai Super Kings and having made good figures as a batsman in spite of being a bowler, the medium pace bowler was awarded Purple Cap at the end of the season for taking 22 wickets in overall mere11 matches with an economy rate of 6.46.
- Lasith Malinga
In 2011, it was none other than the Sri Lankan super Bowler and Mumbai Indians’ iconic player, Lasith Malinga who got to bag the award for topmost wicket-taker. Having already registered several records in his name, this was a mere piece of cake for him. With his unique round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action and the best of economies, “Lasith Malinga” took 26 wickets in the whole tournament playing 16 matches with an economy of 5.95.
- Dwayne Bravo
The sixth season was dominated by this overseas West Indian player who holds the record for taking the highest number of wickets as a purple cap holder. The Trinidadian All- rounder played for Mumbai Indians in the first three seasons. In the Sixth season, playing for Chennai Super Kings, he took 32 wickets in just 18 matches with an economy of 7.95. He returned as the winner of the cap in the alternate season of 2013 with a wicket count of 26 in 17 matches and an improved economy of 8.14.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The right arm medium fast bowler from India is the current Purple cap holder for two consecutive seasons. In the ninth season, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) he scored 23 wickets in total 17 matches with an economy rate of 7.42. In the next season, he took 26 wickets in just 14 matches.
Predictions for the Cap winner in Vivo IPL Season 11, 2018 | Purple Cap
- Dwayne Bravo: As mentioned above, Bravo has won Purple cap on several occasions. Due to loss of his abode in the previous two seasons, he could not have been in form but in 2018 IPL, he was retained by his previous team Chennai Super Kings with an amount of INR 6.40 crores, which can be a motivating reason for him to bag the cap once again for the third time. Bravo has played 90 IPL games and took 111 wickets to date.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Being a winner of the cap for the previous two seasons, may give him an inertial edge over the other players to win the cap this season. In 2018, he has been retained by the team Sunrisers Hyderabad with a sum of INR 8.5 Crores. A consistent player, he once took 5 wickets in a match for Sunrisers Hyderabad playing against Kings XI Punjab.
- Mitchell Starc: The Australian who has been fastest bowler of all the times and possesses a lethal Yorker has been bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a gigantic sum of 11.69 Crores INR and with a greater sum comes greater responsibility.
For now, we fans can just keep our fingers crossed and hope for our teams to break barriers this season.
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