Kolkata: When it comes to the list of highest-paid cricketers around the world, Virat Kohli`s name immediately pops up on top of the list. Besides dominating in the international arena with the Indian cricket team, Virat is the only player from the country to be featured in the Forbes’ rich list of top 100 athletes in 2020 where he is currently positioned in the 66th spot with a whopping income of close to 196 crores.
Kohli is also the highest-paid player in the IPL. He earns a whopping Rs 17 crore for India’s premier league franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) every year, since the 2018 edition. Not to forget, he gets a significant portion of its income from plenty of high profile brand endorsement deals. The 32 year old reportedly charges over ₹5 crore for every promotional post which gets shared from his official Instagram handle.
However, to your surprise Kohli is still not the highest-paid cricketer. There are at least five cricketers who earns more than him. To find out players who earn more salary than Kohli take a look at the list below:
Joe Root: The England Test captain, who earns a whopping amount of £7,00,000 annually (Rs. 7.22 crore approx) annual salary from the England and Wales Cricket Board is leading the chart. Although Kohli earns more through brand endorsements, cricket-wise Root is world’s highest salaried cricket captain owing to his staggering salary.
Jofra Archer: England’s fast bowler Jofra Archer comes second on this list in terms of drawing more salary than the Indian captain. Archer earns a whooping amount of GBP 1 million (Rs 9.39 crore) a year. Archer’s salary is more than Root’s because he plays all three formats. Archer also earns money from Sponsorship, brand ambassador, IPL. The 26-year-old pacer is also declared as the 40th most marketable athlete in the world.
Ben Stokes: England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who represents England in all three formats enjoys the third spot in the list. Although the left-hander is currently away from cricket, he is also a contracted player with the England Cricket Board. Stokes gets an annual salary of £ 9, 10,519 (around INR 8.85 crores) from ECB. Just over the past three years, he has bagged a 40% increment owing to his consistent performance across all three formats of the game.
Steve Smith: Former Australian Test skipper Steve Smith is fourth on this list. He gets approximately USD 4 million by from Cricket Australia for being an active Australian cricket player. He also receives salary from New South Wales for his commitments for the state in Australian domestic cricket. Smith also earns through his endorsement deals with brands and IPL.
Jos Buttler: England wicketkeeper Jos Butler, who is a part of the team in all three forms of cricket is the last player in our list. He is currently receiving an annual salary of 9 crore from ECB In the last two years, he has returned to the country’s Test team. He generates a huge amount of money through brand endorsements and by playing IPL.
