The argument does not really require much effort anymore. After his four-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians that took his season tally to 21 wickets and put him clear at the top of the Purple Cap standings, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has made the case for himself with absolute clarity. At 36 years old, he is the best bowler in this IPL season and it is not particularly close.
A Career That Defies Logic
Most fast bowlers slow down, lose their edge, or simply become predictable as the years pile up. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has done none of those things. He remains the only bowler in IPL history to win the Purple Cap in back-to-back seasons, taking 23 wickets in 2016 and 26 in 2017. He holds the all-time record for the most dot balls bowled in IPL history. And in IPL 2026, at a point in his career where most would expect him to be winding down, he is outbowling everyone else in the competition.
His 21 wickets from 11 matches this season include six occasions where he has taken three or more wickets in a single game. That is not a purple patch. That is a masterclass sustained over more than two months.
The Performance That Changed Sunday Night
Against Mumbai Indians in Raipur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced figures of 4 for 23 that were as close to perfect as swing bowling gets in T20 cricket. He read the conditions, varied his pace, and found the edge repeatedly through a combination of late swing and intelligent lines. The fact that MI could only manage 166 was largely down to the way he controlled the scoring throughout his spell.
What made the evening even more extraordinary was what happened in the final over when RCB needed to win the match. Needing runs with the lower order in, Bhuvneshwar stepped to the crease and hit a six, his first in the IPL in 10 years, to help seal a last-ball victory. It was a moment that said everything about the kind of competitor he is.
Why He Is Still Exceptional at This Stage
The reason Bhuvneshwar still performs at this level is not a mystery. He has always been about craft rather than raw pace. His ability to swing the ball both ways, his understanding of lengths, and his instinct for reading a batter’s weakness have not diminished with age. If anything, the experience has only sharpened those qualities.
His economy rate this season has been exceptional for a tournament where batters routinely target the powerplay. He attacks the top of off stump early in innings, forces batters to play and find edges, and then returns at the death to bowl tight lines with variations. This is the kind of bowling that coaches teach in academies and practitioners spend years trying to replicate.
The Purple Cap Race
At 21 wickets, Bhuvneshwar leads the Purple Cap standings ahead of CSK’s Anshul Kamboj on 19 and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. The fact that a 36-year-old Indian pacer is leading this category in a season where Rabada and Rashid Khan are also participating speaks volumes.
RCB retained him for this season for 10.75 crore rupees, and the value of that decision becomes more obvious with every match. In 2025, he took 17 wickets to help RCB win their first IPL title. In 2026, he is doing it again, and doing it better, leading a title defence with the kind of bowling that teams simply have no answer for right now.
For anyone still wondering whether Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserves a place in Indian cricket conversations, IPL 2026 is the clearest answer yet.
Written by 8JJ.com | May 11, 2026
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