The race to win the IPL 2024 Purple Cap has intensified with Sunrisers Hyderabad left-arm speedster T Natarajan now leading the chart with the most dismissals to his name.
Having made a name for himself for nailing yorkers to perfection in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him at the IPL 2018 mega auction for Rs 40 lakhs and entrusted the responsibility of operating at the death on his young shoulders.
While they couldn't retain him ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, they bought him back after splurging INR 4 crore at the mega auction in 2022.
Natarajan is repaying the trust that the franchise has shown in him by delivering at crucial junctures in the season. The death-over specialist has bagged 15 wickets in eight games this season at a decent economy rate of 8.96.
His bowling heroics of the season include a four-wicket haul (4/19) which he picked up against Delhi Capitals on a belter at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The 33-year-old pacer bagged two crucial wickets for SRH in the game against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday (May 3). He dismissed the dangerous-looking Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 runs off 40 balls) and Shimron Hetmyer before they could run away with the game.
Natarajan's two-wicket haul has helped him take a slim lead on the Purple Cap leaderboard. He is ahead of the second-placed Jasprit Bumrah (14 wickets) and with SRH looking firm favourites for a playoff berth, Natarajan has a realistic chance of claiming the Purple Cap at the end of the season.
Purple Cap Leaderboard
| Ranking | Player | Team | Matches | Wickets |
| 1. | T Natarajan | SRH | 8 | 15 |
| 2. | Jasprit Bumrah | MI | 10 | 14 |
| 3. | Mustafizur Rahman | CSK | 9 | 14 |
| 4. | Harshal Patel | PBKS | 10 | 14 |
| 5. | Matheesha Pathirana | CSK | 6 | 13 |
| 6. | Mukesh Kumar | DC | 7 | 13 |
| 7. | Gerald Coetzee | MI | 9 | 13 |
| 8. | Arshdeep Singh | PBKS | 10 | 13 |
