Introduction
In October 2024, Prasidh Krishna was sitting out of cricket with a stress fracture in his back, wondering when — or whether — his bowling body would cooperate again. By June 2025, he had just taken 25 wickets in the IPL, won the Purple Cap, and been named the joint-best bowler in the competition’s history for a single season. The gap between those two moments — from injured exile to competitive peak — is the story of a bowler who refused to let the injuries that have interrupted his career define how the career would end.
The 25 Wickets — How He Did It
Prasidh Krishna’s 25 wickets in IPL 2025 were spread across 15 matches at an average of 19.52 and an economy of 8.64. He was GT’s new-ball bowler, their death-over specialist, and their wicket-taking option in the middle overs — all in the same season. His ability to swing the ball at 140+ km/h, combined with a late-cutting delivery that exposed the top edge, made him effective against both left-handers and right-handers. In the death overs, his full-length deliveries — reversing slightly after 12-15 overs on certain pitches — proved virtually unplayable when he was in his best rhythm. He took 3+ wickets in a match five times across the season.
The Injury History and What Makes This Different
Prasidh Krishna’s injury record is the context that makes the 2025 Purple Cap meaningful rather than merely statistical. He suffered a stress fracture of the back that kept him out for the majority of the 2024 season. Before that, a shoulder injury had disrupted his 2022 and 2023 campaigns. For a fast bowler in his late 20s, with multiple injury cycles behind him, the conventional wisdom in cricket medicine is that peak performance becomes harder to sustain after each rehabilitation. Prasidh’s 2025 season directly contradicted this wisdom. He was not merely functional — he was dominant. The bowling mechanics that had made him so effective before his injuries were not merely preserved through the rehabilitation; they appeared to have been refined by it.
What the Purple Cap Means for GT and India
GT retained Prasidh Krishna for IPL 2026 alongside Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohammed Siraj — arguably the deepest bowling attack any franchise has assembled. Prasidh’s presence in that combination gives GT something most bowling attacks lack: a high-velocity seamer who can take wickets with the new ball, stem the flow in the middle overs, and execute yorkers at the death. For India, his return to form reopened the national team discussion about his role. He had played 14 Tests and contributed to series wins against England and Australia before injury interrupted his development. A 25-wicket IPL season at 29 years old makes him, once again, a bowler who demands serious consideration.
DID YOU KNOW? Prasidh Krishna’s 25 wickets in IPL 2025 were the most by any bowler in a single edition since Dwayne Bravo’s 32 in 2013. He was the joint-most wickets taken by any Indian bowler in a single IPL season.
Final Verdict Prasidh Krishna won the Purple Cap after a year spent away from cricket, rehabilitating injuries that have punctuated his career. The 25 wickets say something that injury records cannot: he is better now than he was before.