10 richest cricketers in the world - 2018

Yuvraj Singh. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images) Cricket is one of the most popular sports in India. The fans go gaga about the game and there is an immense craze. Because of the craze and popularity, the cricket boards and the players also rake in the dosh. Apart from their cricketing income, the athletes make a mint on various other means to earn money. The lucrative sport helps them earn huge loads of money and makes them extremely popular and are youth icons. Apart from these, cricketers also get into various chains of business like apparel, dining and other trades. International cricketers get the additional incentives and the Indian Premier League (IPL) has only added to the cause. On this note, let us take a look at the cricketers with the highest annual income. Some of them earn more than a lot of top CEOs. Here are the 10 richest cricketers in the world: 10. Yuvraj Singh | $3.5 million Yuvraj Singh is an extremely popular cricketer in India. He is an absolute treat to watch when in full flow. Yuvraj played a major role in helping India win the T20 World Cup 2007 and 50-overs World Cup 2011. The 36-year-old has also battled cancer and has made numerous comebacks into the Indian team. With age not on his side, he hasn’t been able to replicate the same kind of heroics of late. Yuvraj doesn’t bowl much now. He has struggled to get his hand-eye coordination right and thus the timing has suffered which was one of his biggest strengths. Hence, his stakes have gone down as he was bought at just ₹ 2 crores in the IPL auction in 2018 which was also his base price. Yuvraj also has his own apparel brand. He was also ripped off his BCCI central contract. Yuvi currently earns $3.5 million as a part of his annual income, a majority of which comes through endorsements. 9. Michael Clarke |$3.9 million The former World Cup-winning Australian captain Michael Clarke finds the ninth spot on this list. Clarke was a very elegant batsman in his playing days and was one of the most important members of the side. He was also brilliant with his tactics as the captain of the side. He won them the World Cup in 2015 but has retired soon after that. Clarke is still around as the television commentator and expert. He shares his insights about the game which help the audience connect with him a great deal. He earns a majority of his income through endorsements. As per the reports on doyouknow.com, the former Aussie skipper earns $3.9 million which is quite high for a player who hasn’t played much in the recent times. 8. Gautam Gambhir | $4.79 million Gautam Gambhir is considered to be one of India’s finest openers. However, he has not found a place in the national side in the recent times and has had his problems with the bat. Gambhir last played a Test match for India all the way back in 2016 against England. Apart from his national exploits, the left-hander is one of the most successful IPL captains. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to two title glories and moved back to his old franchise, Delhi Daredevils this year. However, since he has found very little success with the franchise, Gambhir decided to step down as the captain of the side and also forgo his IPL salary of ₹2.6 crores which is about $0.41 million. Hence, his income came down to $4.79 million as per doyouknow.com. Rest of his income comes through endorsements. 7. Shane Watson | $5.5 million It has been quite some time since Shane Watson retired from international cricket. However, he still manages to feature in this list of highest earning cricketers. Watson plies his trade in almost all the T20 leagues around the world. He is a crafty T20 player although he has had his fair share of injuries in the recent times that prevent him from bowling much. Further, Watson was also instrumental in Chennai Super Kings‘ win in IPL 2018. He played many crucial knocks proving his worth as a player. Watson earns $0.59 million through IPL and $0.15 million through PSL. He gets about $0.5 million from the other leagues and contracts. Also, he earns $4.26 million from endorsements. 6. Shahid Afridi | $5.8 million Former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi takes the fifth spot on the list of players with the highest income. This all-rounder retired from all international cricket recently after playing a game for the World XI against the West Indies. Fondly called as “Lala” by the fans, Afridi is the richest Pakistani cricketer in terms of the annual income. Although he is an aggressive character on the field, Afridi is equally good at heart with his off-field activities. He runs the ‘Shahid Afridi Foundation’ which helps the poor and supports a lot of humanitarian causes. Afridi’s primary income comes from various T20 leagues around the world. He also endorses numerous brands through which he earns $5.42 million. His overall income is $5.8 million. 5. Virender Sehwag | $6.1 million David Warner and Steve Smith were a part of this list until March this year. However, after the ball-tampering saga, their Cricket Australia (CA) and IPL contracts were terminated giving a place to other cricketers on this list. Hence, Virender Sehwag occupies the fifth position on this list of cricketers with the highest income. Sehwag is currently the boss of the Kings XI Punjab side. He is paid ₹1 crore per annum by the franchise. Also, he owns a few chains of businesses and runs the ‘Sehwag International School’. Further, he is seen endorsing quite a few brands even now and also commentates sometimes for the India matches. His income has increased quite a bit from last year and earns $6.1 million currently. 4. AB de Villiers | $6.4 million AB de Villiers is one of the most loved cricketers around the world. He is a true gentleman of the game and holds numerous records across all formats. However, he has shocked the entire cricketing fraternity when he announced his sudden retirement just after IPL 2018. De Villiers was retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore this year for ₹11 crores (about $1.6 million). Being a very famous face, AB also earns big bucks through endorsements which accounts to nearly $4 million. Also, he was paid $0.8 million as a per of Cricket South Africa central contract. Hence, his total income is $6.4 million. 3. Chris Gayle | $7.5 million Chris Gayle finds himself on the third position in this list. He is the only West Indian cricketer to feature here. However, there is a whole lot of difference between his income and the income of the player in the second position. Although Gayle is not the regular part of the West Indies national team, he plies his trade in almost all the T20 league around the world. He provides the sides with great starts and is the only player with over 10,000 T20 runs. Although his stakes have decreased this year, he still is one of the richest cricketers around. His IPL salary in 2018 was ₹ 2 crores. Gayle was bought by the Kings XI Punjab at his base price. Also, he features in the Bangladesh Premier League, Carribean Premier League and many other leagues. He also endorses various brands and according to www.totalsportek.com, the Jamaican earns $7.5 million per annum. 2. MS Dhoni | $21.7 million Mahendra Singh Dhoni has carried the burden of Indian cricket on his shoulders for quite some time. In 2014, he was on the 22nd place of the Forbes List of top-100 highest-paid athletes with around $30 million dollars as his annual income, which is still the highest among cricketers thus far. But, ever since he has retired from Test cricket, and stepped down as the captain of the limited-overs teams his brand value has decreased. However, he still is the second highest paid cricketer in the world. MS Dhoni is placed in the Grade A category of BCCI annual contract which gets him paid ₹ 5 crores per annum. Additionally, he receives a big pay cheque of ₹ 15 crores as his IPL salary. Mahi also endorses various brands and is involved in whole a lot of businesses. A majority of his income, like for any other athlete, comes through endorsements. Dhoni earns $21.7 million per annum. 1. Virat Kohli | $24 million Virat Kohli is the face of Indian cricket and the most popular youth icon in India. He is extremely popular around the world and has over 25 million followers on Twitter. He boasts of having more Twitter followers than all but three other sports stars. Further, he is the captain of the Indian cricket team across all the formats of the game. Virat sets benchmarks with his hard work and determination. The 29-year-old is the only cricketer who is on the Forbes list of highest paid athletes in 2018. He is placed at the 83rd place out of the top 100 athletes from around the world and earns $24 million every year. Virat is placed in the Grade A+ category of the BCCI annual contract where he earns ₹7 crores. His IPL fee this season was ₹17.5 crores and he also earns through endorsements and business engagements. He partnered with the likes of Wrong, Puma, Pepsi, Audi and Oakley. In March he became India’s first brand ambassador for Uber, and a month later he partnered with New Era to launch his own signature headwear line.

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10 richest cricketers in the world - 2018

Let us take a look at the cricketers with the highest annual income. Some of them earn more than a lot of top CEOs.

6. Shahid Afridi | $5.8 million

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