The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season is upon us and all eyes would be on the batters who would look to set the stage on fire and win that Orange Cap. This particular accolade is given to the batter who manages to score the most number of runs in the entire IPL edition. From Shaun Marsh in the inaugural season to Ruturaj Gaikwad in the last edition, let us have a look on who all have won the Orange Cap in the past seasons of the tournament.
Australia batter David Warner is the only player to have won the Orange Cap thrice in the history of the tournament.
List of all Orange Cap winners in the history of IPL:
Shaun Marsh (2008)
The southpaw played for the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the inaugural edition of the IPL and he went on to score 616 runs at an average of 68.44 runs with his highest score being 115. This performance by the batter helped the franchise reached the semi-finals.
Matthew Hayden (2009)
Hayden represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the second edition of the tournament and with this special mongoose bat, the left-handed batter scored 572 runs in the IPL season played in South Africa. The batter registered five 50+ scores in the season.
Sachin Tendulkar (2010)
Mumbai Indians had a poor first two seasons in the IPL but skipper Tendulkar’s resurgence in the 2010 edition helped the franchise to make the finals. Tendulkar scored 618 runs including five fifties. His average was 47.53 and he had the highest score of 89 in that particular season.
Chris Gayle (2011 and 2012)
It is hard to imagine that Gayle went unsold in the 2011 IPL auction but midway, he was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement. In the 2011 edition, the swashbuckling batter scored 608 runs including two centuries. He then replicated his performance in the 2012 edition and he went on to score 733 runs with seven fiftes and one century.
Michael Hussey (2013)
Playing for CSK, Hussey managed to pile up 733 runs at an average of 52.35 with the help of six fifties. Hussey formed a formidable opening wicket partnership with Murli Vijay and the duo became a huge headache for all oppositions.
Robin Uthappa (2014)
In Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL-winning run, Uthappa played a big role as he scored 660 runs in the entire tournament. Along with Gautam Gambhir, he gave a good opening start to the franchise in almost every game. At one stage, KKR was lagging behind, but it was Uthappa who stepped up and took the season by the scruff of the neck.
David Warner (2015, 2017 and 2019)
Warner is one of the most decorated players in the history of the IPL and hence it is no surprise, that the southpaw has managed to win the Orange Cap thrice. In the 2015 edition, he won it for the first time after scoring 562 runs while playing for the SunRisers Hyderabad. In 2017, Warner then scored 641 runs and one most not forget, if it was not for the brilliance of Virat Kohli, Warner would have won the Orange Cap in 2016 as well as he amassed an incredible 848 runs. Finally, the Australian batter won the accolade again in 2019 after scoring 692 runs including 8 fifties and one century.
Virat Kohli (2016)
Kohli almost scored 1000 runs in an entire season and this speaks volumes of the skill the batter truly has. He single-handedly took RCB to the finals of the 2016 season and it was his wicket in the summit clash against SunRisers Hyderabad, that was a turning point and it allowed Warner’s team to clinch the title. In the 2016 season, Kohli scored 973 runs with the help of seven fifties and four centuries.
Kane Williamson (2018)
Leading SunRisers Hyderabad in the absence of David Warner, was no easy task but Kane Williamson took it like a fish takes to water. The Kiwi skipper scored 735 runs in the season helping his franchise reach the final, only to fall short against Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash.
KL Rahul (2020)
Leading Punjab Kings, Rahul scored 670 runs and no one can forget his 132-run knock against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) which saw him taking Proteas pacer Dale Steyn to the cleaners. In the entire season, Rahul registered five fifties and one century. His side might not have made to the playoffs, but Rahul’s performance was definitely the standout one in 2020 season.
Promoted
Ruturaj Gaikwad (2021)
In 2020 season, CSK skipper MS Dhoni had famously said that the management is not able to see “spark in youngsters”, and Ruturaj Gaikwad truly showed what he is made of in the next edition. The batter won the Orange Cap in 2021 after scoring 635 runs including four fifties and one century. This performance was the biggest reason behind him being retained by the franchise before IPL 2022’s mega auction.
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