Top IPL bowlers to be honoured with purple cap

Mumbai: The Indian Premier League announced the inauguration of the ‘Purple Cap’ for the top bowler (highest wicket taker) in the on going Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Purple Cap will be awarded to the bowler with the most cumulative wickets to his name on each day of the season, and will be worn by that bowler in the field.

At the end of the season, the holder of the purple cap will win the honour of being called the winner of the purple cap 2008 and will receive recognition on the final day, an IPL release said on Monday.

In the event of a tie at any given time, the holder will be determined by superior economy rate, the release added.

"We have seen over the course of the inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League so far that bowlers have just as important a role to play in winning T20 matches as batsmen d and IPL has created a distinction for the highest wicket taking bowler in the purple cap," IPL commissioner and chairman, Lalit Modi, said in the release.

"The purpose of this initiative is to continue to be innovative, create a further unique piece of history that sets the DLF Indian Premier League apart form the crowd, and to acknowledge outstanding performance by the bowlers," the release added.

"The bowler who wins the right to call himself purple cap winner 2008 will certainly have earned the right to feel proud of the achievement, since the prevailing thought is that T20 is a batsman’s game and IPL is blessed with many of the world’s greatest batsmen," the release further added.