Cricket is the most popular sport in India and, for the same reason, there is a lot of money associated with the sport in India.
And the amount of money circulating in the Indian cricket industry has increased substantially since the inception of the Indian Premier League.
Since the IPL was founded back in 2008, the tournament has taken the cricket business in India to another level.
Due to the hundreds of millions of spectators that tune in to view the IPL year after year, the tournament is able to secure highly lucrative sponsorship deals for both teams and players.
For this reason, the IPL has become the most valuable cricket league in the entire world, valued at a mind-boggling $6.3 billion (
Considering the estimated value of all sponsorship deals, the estimated Thanks to the generous sponsorship it attracts, IPL is the richest cricket league in the world. The estimated valuation of IPL is $6.3 billion USD.
With all this big money floating around, the IPL tournament is able to attract some of the best cricket talents from India and the rest of the world. And in this article, we’ll show you the IPL cricketers with the highest incomes!
1. Virat Kohli
Having been part of the IPL as a young player since the tournament was established in 2008 when he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore on a youth contract. Since then he has played for RCB during every single instalment of the tournament.
Due to Kohli’s performance on the field, his popularity, and not least his brand image, the RCB has shelled out an increasing amount of money every season in order to keep their star player on the team.
In fact, during the IPL 2018 auction, Kohli was offered a whopping sum of Rs. 17 crores. This makes Kohli the highest paid cricketer in any single IPL season.
In addition to that, Virat Kohli has earned millions for endorsing brands during the IPL as well as in between tournaments as well. He has been the brand ambassador for all types of brands, from soft drinks to sports wear, electronic gadgets, and grooming products.
Kohli has even endorsed online cricket betting sites that have made it possible for Indians to bet legally and securely on the IPL and other cricket tournaments.
Kohli’s cricket salary ,along with his other brand partnerships have reportedly pushed Kohli’s net worth to a whopping Rs. 840 crores.
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
When the IPL began back in 2008, M.S. Dhoni was one of the hottest upcoming players. For this reason, Dhoni became the costliest player during the IPL auctions of the first season.
In the initial IPL seasons, Dhoni was offered a salary of Rs. 6 crores from 2008 to 2010. Dhoni’s salary was increased to Rs. 12.5 crores in 2014 and 2015.
Dhoni’s salary went up to Rs. 15 crores in the year 2018 when he joined the Chennai Super Kings franchise.
In total, Dhoni has been able to withdraw a cool 152.84 crores so far over the course of the various IPL instalments that he’s been part of.
He is the second richest cricketer in the world with a networth of Rs. 819 crores.
3. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is one of the top performing cricketers in India over the past 15 years. He is currently the captain of the Indian Cricket team, and has been referred to as the “New God of T20 cricket”.
Rohit Sharma has been generously remunerated for his impressive achievements since the beginning of his league career.
When he first joined the IPL under Deccan Chargers, he was paid Rs. 9 crores per sæson.
Subsequently, his salary was increased slightly to 9.2 crores when the Mumbai Indians bagged him for the 2011 to 2013 seasons.
During the following 4 years, his salary increased again, as he was able to take out Rs. 12.5 crores every season.
Furthermore, his retention price was increased to Rs. 15 crores in 2018 which the Mumbai Indians were more than happy to pay.
Sharma has been paid a total sum of Rs. 146.6 crores till now and his net worth has touched Rs. 180 crores.
4. AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is a South African cricket star, and the most highly paid international player in the history of the IPL.
AB de Villiers represented Delhi Capitals in the first three seasons of the IPL. and was offered 1.4 crores per season.
His outstanding performance for the Delhi-based franchise made him a hot topic, and he was eventually acquired by the big-pocketed Royal Challengers Bangalore which also led to a bigger salary for the South African.
Since joining the RCB, AB de Villiers has been paid Rs. 11 crores per season.
He has earned a total sum of Rs. 102.5 crores in his IPL career and is the only overseas player to take home more than Rs. 100 crores.
