Indian Premier League (IPL) is the richest cricket league in the world. From title sponsorships to broadcasting rights, each deal is a multi-million dollar one. Recently, the Tata Group has agreed to pay a whopping INR 670 crores for the next two seasons of the IPL, to be the title sponsors.
IPL’s media right from 2023-27 is going to be e-auctioned in June and there is an anticipation of the BCCI earning a staggering windfall of $6 billion. Forbes had called IPL the ‘sixth most valuable sports league in the world’ in 2020. Indian cricketers like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are among the top earners in the league’s history.
Let’s find out how much money these marquee Indian players have made from the IPL since 2008:
1. MS Dhoni (164.84 crores)
CSK and MS Dhoni are a bond like no other. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, Chennai Super Kings have won four IPL titles. The franchise has made the playoffs 11 times, including nine appearances in the finals.
Dhoni drew a salary of INR 6 Crore in each of the first three seasons of the tournament. From 2011-13, he received INR 8.28 crores every season. In 2014 and 2015, Dhoni’s IPL salary was increased to INR 12.5 crores per year. During CSK’s two-year ban, Dhoni played for Rising Pune Supergiant. He was paid INR 25 crores during his stint with the Pune franchise.
From 2018-21, Dhoni was paid INR 15 crores every year, by Chennai Super Kings. In 2021, Dhoni became the first player to breach the Rs 150 crore mark in the IPL. Ahead of IPL 2022, Dhoni handed over the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja. Chennai retained him for INR 12 crores. This makes his overall IPL earnings as INR 164.84 crores.
2. Rohit Sharma (162.6 crores)
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the most IPL titles as a captain (5). He got the leadership duties in the middle of the 2013 season when Ricky Ponting stepped down as MI captain. Overall, Rohit is the third-highest run-scorer in Indian Premier League (IPL) history.
The 33-year-old cricketer played for Deccan Chargers in the first three years of his IPL career. The now-defunct franchise paid him INR 3 crores every season. In 2011, Mumbai Indians bought Rohit for a whopping price of INR 9.2 crores. He was paid the same amount in the next two years. In 2014, he got a raise, receiving INR 12.5 crore. The same salary continued for the next three seasons.
The stocks of Rohit Sharma- the skipper were going up as he was leading the side to a title every alternate year. In 2018, he got another increment, INR 15 crores/year. Till 2021, he was paid the same amount. Ahead of the IPL 2022 auctions, MI skipper was retained for a price of INR 16 crores. This makes his overall IPL earnings as INR 162.6 crores.
3. Virat Kohli (158.2 crores)
Ace batter Virat Kohli has played 15 seasons of the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is the leading run-scorer in IPL history. During this period, Kohli has earned over INR 150 crores from the cash-rich league.
In the inaugural season, he was picked through the U-19 draft for INR 12 Lakhs. He got the same amount in the next two seasons. Over the years, Kohli has become the face of the franchise. The graphs of his career and income have grown exponentially.
Ahead of the 2011 auction, Kohli was the only player to be retained by RCB. He drew a mega amount of INR 8.28 crores. He received the same amount for the next two seasons. Ahead of IPL 2013, he was named RCB’s full-time captain.
In IPL 2014, Kohli was paid INR 12.5 crore. He received the same amount for the next three years. Under him, RCB played the final of IPL 2016. Ahead of IPL 2018 auction, Kohli broke all records when RCB paid him INR 17 crores. Till 2021, he was paid the same amount. Ahead of IPL 2022, RCB retained Kohli for INR 15 crores. This makes his overall IPL earnings as INR 158.2 crores.
4. Suresh Raina (99.74 Crores)
Former Chennai Super Kings batter Suresh Raina is the 5th highest run-scorer in the history of IPL. He has scored 5528 runs at an average of 32.51 and a strike rate of 136.73. He is the all-time leading run-getter for the Chennai franchise.
In IPL 2008, Raina was bought by Chennai for INR 2.6 crores. He was paid the same amount by CSK for the next two seasons. In 2011, he got a raise, receiving INR 5.98 crores. The same salary continued for the next two seasons. From 2014-15, Raina got INR 9.5 crores/year.
During CSK’s two-year ban, Raina led the Gujarat Lions. He was paid INR 9.5 crores in the first and INR 12.5 crores in his second season for Gujarat.
In 2018, 2019 and 2021 seasons, for CSK, Mr IPL received a salary of INR 11 crores in each season. Raina had pulled out of IPL 2020 citing personal reasons. There was no confirmation, but it’s safe to assume that Raina didn’t receive any salary for that season, since it was his personal call and not an injury-related issue. Overall his IPL earnings are estimated to be INR 99.74 Crores.
Raina was a part of the IPL 2022 auctions. However, he couldn’t find any buyers. He has been donning the commentator’s hat in the ongoing IPL 2022 season.
5. KL Rahul (65.1 Crores)
Since 2018, KL Rahul has been scoring 500+ runs in every season of the Indian Premier League. In 2020, he was the orange-cap holder with 670 runs. Rahul was picked up by RCB in 2013 for INR 10 Lakhs. In the next season, Sunrisers Hyderabad signed him for INR 1 crore. He was paid the same amount by SRH for the next season.
In 2016, Rahul made a comeback to RCB who signed him for INR 1 crore. The opener missed the next season due to a shoulder injury. But BCCI’s player insurance policy for the IPL would have made sure that he received almost the entire salary (INR 1 crore) that year.
In 2018, Punjab Kings signed him for a staggering amount of INR 11 crores. Till 2021, he received the same salary. Rahul will be paid INR 17 crores by Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, which is the joint-highest salary for a player in a season. Overall, he has earned INR 65.1 Crores from IPL.
6. Hardik Pandya (59.3 Crores)
Ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya was a part of Mumbai Indians for seven years (2015-21). For each of the first three seasons, Pandya got INR 10 Lakhs. As the all-rounder made a name for himself on the global stage, his net worth increased. He was paid Rs 11 crores each season for the next 4 years.
For IPL 2022, Pandya was signed by the new franchise Gujarat Titans for INR 15 Crores. Together in eight seasons, he has earned INR 59.3 Crores from the cash-rich league.
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