IPL Orange Cap Winners: There are only a few days left for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 to start. In such a situation, the discussion regarding Orange Cap has once again intensified among cricket fans. Actually, among the many awards given in IPL, Orange Cap is considered to be the most special, because it is given to the batsman who scores the most runs in the entire season. This is the reason why special attention is kept on this race every year.
The Orange Cap was introduced in the first season of IPL in 2008. The batsman who scores the most runs during the tournament wears this cap during the match and in the end he wins it.
In the first season, Australia’s legendary batsman Shaun Marsh became the first winner of this award, while in the same season, Brendon McCullum was the first player to wear it.
David Warner holds the record for winning the Orange Cap the most number of times in IPL history. He won this honor thrice—in 2015, 2017 and 2019. However, Warner could not be a part of any team in IPL 2025 and remained unsold in the auction. After this he took part in the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2025), where Karachi Kings made him the most expensive player of that season by buying him for Rs 2.8 crore.
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli have won this cap twice each. However, Kohli’s record in terms of scoring runs is still at the top.
Virat Kohli had created history by scoring 973 runs in IPL 2016, which is still the record for scoring the most runs in a single season.
In this season, Kohli had dominated the entire tournament with his batting and this performance is still counted among the best seasons in IPL history. After this, in the year 2024, once again Kohli made the Orange Cap his by scoring 741 runs.
Chris Gayle has two Orange Caps in his name in the IPL, which he won in two consecutive seasons (2011 and 2012) on the basis of his explosive batting. In 2011, Gayle scored 608 runs, while in 2012 he scored 733 runs. The special thing was that his contribution was very important in taking Royal Challengers Bangalore to the final in the 2011 season, due to which he also got the title of ‘Player of the Tournament’.
In the last few seasons, young batsmen have also dominated the Orange Cap race.
Sai Sudarshan performed brilliantly in the last season and won the Orange Cap by scoring the most runs. After his performance, he started getting more opportunities in the Indian team.
The Orange Cap is not just an award but a symbol of a batsman’s consistency and class. The player who wins this, his demand increases in franchise cricket as well as at the international level.
This is the reason why every season the batsmen give all their strength to stay ahead in this race.
Now the biggest question is which batsman will win the Orange Cap by scoring the most runs in IPL 2026.
Will a new player create history or will players like Kohli, Gill or Sudarshan emerge victorious once again? The answer will be known in the coming weeks. For now, fans are looking forward to another exciting season, where the race for the Orange Cap will get more interesting with every run.
