IPL 2020 / Which Indian players have won Orange Cap in the history of IPL?

Cricket Desk: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a witness to 13 editions with Mumbai Indians (MI) being the most successful team, winning the title as many as five times. On Tuesday, November 10, MI, captained by Rohit Sharma, beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was also their fifth title win in the last eight seasons.

However, as far the leading run-scorers are concerned, they have mostly been foreign cricketers. Australia’s Shaun Marsh won the Orange Cap in the inaugural edition, but it’s Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) David Warner, who’s leading the charts. The latter has won the Orange Cap three times three times in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Chris Gayle is second, being the top run-getter two times.

KL Rahul joins the elite bunch of Indian cricketers

In the meantime, there have been four instances when an Indian cricketer has gone on to win the Orange Cap. Sachin Tendulkar, playing for MI, was the first from the country to do so when he smashed 618 runs in the 2010 edition. It was also the instance when Chennai Super Kings (CSK), led by MS Dhoni, won the IPL trophy for the first time, beating Mumbai in the all-important final.

Then in 2014, Robin Uthappa won the Orange Cap, playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as he scored 660 runs. The Men in Gold and Purple also lifted the title for the second time in that season. Then in 2016, Virat Kohli hammered 973 runs with as many as four centuries and won the Orange Cap. His team, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lost to the SRH in the final.

The 32-year-old Virat’s tally remains as the most runs scored by any batsman in a single edition of the IPL. In the 2020 edition, Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) KL Rahul became the fourth Indian batter to get the Orange Cap. The Mohali-based team’s captain smashed 670 runs with a top score of a 132*.

The knock came against RCB in Dubai. However, Rahul was the first Indian cricketer to get the Orange Cap with his team not reaching the final. Tendulkar, Uthappa and Kohli played IPL finals in 2010, 2014 and 2016 respectively. However, KXIP in 2020 couldn’t even make the playoffs.