The Orange Cap is the prestigious award given to the leading scorer to the player during the IPL tournament. The cap was introduced on April 25, 2008, during the inaugural season of IPL. It highlights the batter’s consistency throughout the tournament. The winner of the inaugural season was Shaun Marsh(Kings XI Punjab), scoring 616 runs. David Warner holds the record for the most Orange Caps, winning it 3 times (2015, 2017, 2019) while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Virat Kohli set the all-time record in 2016 with 973 runs in a single edition. Chris Gayle is the only player to win the cap in consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Sai Sudharsan became the youngest winner in history in 2025 at age 23, surpassing Shubman Gill's previous record
Who wears the orange cap?
The cap is not just a final season award; it is a rotating honour. The player who currently has the most runs in the tournament wears the actual orange cap on the field while their team is fielding.If a batsman from the opposing team overtakes the current leader's run tally during a match, the current fielder continues to wear the cap until the end of that specific innings. The cap officially "changes hands" after the match concludes. The cap is intended to be worn only during fielding.: The player who finished with the most runs at the very end of the tournament (including playoffs) is crowned the official winner on the night of the IPL Final.
If two or more players finish with the exact same number of runs, the winner is determined by Superior Strike Rate, the player who scored those runs at a faster rate is awarded the cap.
