It is safe to say that the Indian Premiere League is the richest cricket league of all time. Cricketers dream of playing this league. IPL over the years has gained a lot of viewership and popularity which has lead to a resurrecting rise which seems unable to stop. Many players draw more than half of their salary from the IPL. However, who are the highest paid cricketers in IPL history? We shall be taking a look at them today.
1) MS Dhoni:
The former Indian captain and world’s most celebrated cricketer, MS Dhoni was bought by Chennai SuperKings in 2008 as their marquee player for USD 1.5 Million (INR 11 Crores). He got the same amount for the next three years. From 2011 till 2013, MS got a salary dip to INR 8.2 Crores. In 2014, the BCCI increased the salaries of first choice retentions as MS got INR 12.5 Crores for till the end of 2015. When Dhoni got transferred to Pune SuperGaints, his payment stayed the same for his two-year tenure. From 2018, MSD is getting INR 15 Crores per year as the BCCI increased the fees for the first choice retentions. Dhoni has earned over INR 137 Crores in the last 13 seasons of the Indian Premier League.
2) Rohit Sharma:
India’s “Hitman” is second on this list. He started his career in Deccan Chargers and is now the captain of Mumbai Indians and has won five titles for them. the Ambanis brought him to Mumbai Indians where he charged INR 11 Crores till the 2013 season. In 2014, Rohit who became the captain of the franchise in the mid-2013 season was the first-choice retention and got INR 12.5 Crores. His salary again increased in 2018 as the board increased it to INR 15 Crores per year for the first-choice retentions. Hence, Rohit Sharma has earned INR. 131 Crores since 2008.
3) Virat Kohli:
One of the greatest batsman of all time, Virat Kohli is third on this list and he still has a lot of time to catch up. Virat Kohli was gaining huge popularity as he was the Indian skipper when Indian clinched the Under-19 World Cup in 2008. RCB understood Kohli’s caliber and got the future superstar on-board for INR 12 Lakhs. Virat charged the same for the next two years until 2011 when the franchise retained Kohli for INR 8.2 Crores. In 2014, as the board increased the salary of the first-choices and RCB’s star bagged INR 12.5 Crores for the next four years. In 2018, Virat broke all the records to become the highest-paid cricketer in a single IPL season, Virat grabbed INR 17 Crores per year and he is getting paid the same amount since then, making him the most expensive IPL player for now
4) Suresh Raina:
Often referred to as “Mr. IPL”, Raina has been one of the greatest players in the history of IPL. Suresh Raina was bought by Chennai SuperKings in 2008. Raina under Dhoni’s wings got the title of Mr. IPL. Suresh was bought for INR 2.6 Crores by his beloved CSK and he earned the same amount until the end of the third IPL season. In 2011, after winning his maiden IPL title his got a salary hike to INR 6 Crores per year and took the same amount for the next 2 seasons. In the 2014 and 2015 editions, he grabbed INR 9.5 Crores when he became the second-choice retention player in CSK. As Chennai got banned for 2 years, Mr. IPL got transferred to Gujarat Loins where he took INR 9.5 Crores in 2016 and INR 12.5 Crores in 2017. He again came back to Chennai for the 2018 season at the prize money of INR 11 Crores. He might have missed the last IPL season but still, Mr. IPL is on the fourth spot with over INR 98 Crores.
5) Gautam Gambhir:
The hero of the finals of the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup, Gautam Gambhir comes on the fifth spot of the wealthiest men from the Indian Premier League. After the victory of 2007, Gautam was valued highly, hence, Delhi Daredevils grabbed him for INR 2.9 Crores and paid him the same amount for three IPL editions. In 2011, Gambhir got shifted to Kolkata and the Knight Rider bought the sensation for INR 11 Crores and he charged the exact till 2013 edition. In 2014, as per BCCI’s order, Gautam Gambir who was KKR’s first-choice got INR 12.5 Crores for the next four seasons. In 2018, Gautam came back to Delhi to play his last season at INR 2.8 Crores. Gautam who has captained his franchise KRR has earned a total of INR 95 Crores in 11 IPL seasons.