IPL 2019: Here are the top 5 bowlers who can stake their claim on the Purple Cap this season

The 12th edition of IPL begins on March 23 as the defending champions Chennai Super Kings lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram stadium. While the batsmen entertain the viewers with their extraordinary batting techniques by smashing the bowlers all over the park, even the bowlers have succeeded in keeping the batsmen on their feet with some spectacular performances. T20 is the toughest format for bowlers as they have to keep the run flow in check apart from taking wickets. There are a few bowlers who have ensured that their respective teams can rely on them under any circumstances for providing breakthroughs.

Following are the top five bowlers who are in contention for the Purple Cap this year.

Jasprit Bumrah: Bumrah is currently the world's best bowler in limited overs Cricket, as per the ICC's rankings. Apart from this, he is also a world-class death over specialist. He has the ability to bowl yorkers at will which can force the batsmen to make mistakes of going for risky shots after a few dot balls. Last year, he had scalped 17 wickets in the 14 games that he played. He has been associated with Mumbai Indians since 2013. 

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Rashid Khan: Rashid Khan has been making a name for himself since the past few years. The 20-year-old Afghan leg-spinner has been wreaking havoc since the 2017 season after being roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is currently the world's top-ranked T20I bowler. Khan has got the better of outstanding batsmen like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and AB De Villiers. He has the googlies which can bamboozle any batsman. He had an exceptional tournament last year where he had 21 scalps to his name in all the 17 matches that he played.

Andrew Tye: Tye had a dream start to his IPL career in 2017 when he became the first bowler to take a hat-trick on IPL debut. He is a death over specialist and can keep the batsmen on their toes with his yorkers. He was the Purple Cap winner last season with 24 scalps in 14 matches. He will be coming to IPL after an impressive outing at the Big Bash League which makes this Kings XI Punjab star a strong contender to retain his Purple Cap.

Yuzvendra Chahal: He has succeeded in becoming one of India's best wrist-spinners in limited overs Cricket. He is the highest wicket-taker of Royal Challengers Bangalore and can help in providing breakthroughs for his team in the middle overs. He is sure to want to put up a better performance this season than the last one where he managed to scalp 12 wickets in 14 matches.

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Umesh Yadav: He was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore last season where he impressed one and all by scalping 20 wickets from 14 matches. RCB will be hoping that Yadav repeats the feat once again and turns out to be a match winner for them.