5 players who earn more money than Virat Kohli in international cricket

When we speak about the highest-paid cricketers or athletes across the world playing different sports, one person’s name stands tall among the list Virat Kohli. The former Indian skipper is currently the only player from the country to be featured in the Forbes’ rich list of top 100 athletes in 2020. He is currently in the 66th position with a staggering income of close to 196 crores. This whopping amount he has generated due to getting an A+ contract from the BCCI and earns seven crores each year from it. Also, Kohli is the highest-paid IPL cricketer as he gets 17 crores each year, since the 2018 season by playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Apart from that, he has several brand endorsement deals due to his immense popularity and huge fan following among youths across the world. While many would assume he is the highest-paid cricketer by and large due to the insane numbers, but that is not to be. Yes, you heard it right. There are at least five cricketers who draw more salaries than Kohli. While the Indian skipper might be getting more money due to IPL and brand endorsements, few of his counterparts earn more than him by purely playing cricket. Here are players who earn more than Virat Kohli through playing cricket 1. Joe Root Joe Root. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images) England’s Test skipper Joe Root features first in the list. As surprised and shocked one would be seeing his name, those who follow England Cricket Board (ECB)’s domestic contract system know a thing or two about the varied contract structures they have, when it comes to giving salaries. Although the ECB said that they will bring in changes to the contract system, the existing one will remain till the end of 2021. This current contract system by ECB gives priority to Test cricket and as the captain of the England team, Root earns an astonishing amount of £7,00,000 annually (Rs. 7.22 crore approx) from the ECB, which is marginally more than the 7 crores Kohli gets. Root’s jaw-dropping numbers place him ahead of Kohli, and make him the highest-paid Test captain across teams too. Although Kohli earns more through brand endorsements, cricket-wise Root is leading the chart owing to a handsome salary he gets from ECB. 2. Jofra Archer Jofra Archer. (Photo Source: Getty Images) England’s star fast bowler Jofra Archer comes second on this list. Archer had a breakthrough season for the team in 2019-20, which paved way for inclusion in all three formats of the game. During such a short span of time, the fast bowler has seen it all. He was entrusted with the task of bowling the Super Over skipper Eoin Morgan and he didn’t disappoint as he defended 15 runs and enabled victory for England in the 2019 ODI World Cup. Apart from that, he starred in the Ashes and delivered one of the hostile spells of fast bowling to Steve Smith. Archer’s rise has also seen him earn the same amount as Root in the red-ball format. According to certain reports, Archer gets a staggering over £1 million (₹9.39 crore) a year. Archer’s figures are more than Root’s because he plays all three formats. Root plays ODIs and Test, whereas Archer also plays T20Is. The West Indian-born pacer is also declared as the 40th most marketable athlete in the world. Currently, Archer draws 870000 Euros by playing both formats for England. 3. Ben Stokes Ben Stokes. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images) Talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes features in this list. Like Archer, he also plays all three formats and earns a stupendous amount from the ECB. Stokes has been a regular for the Three Lions since 2013. Call him the heartbeat of the team, entertainer, or match-winner, Stokes completes the England team in every sense. Stokes currently gets £ 9, 10,519 (around INR 8.75 crores) from ECB. Over the past three years only, the England all-rounder has earned a 40% growth due to his consistent performance with the team in all three formats of the game. With ECB putting a new domestic system in place, Stokes’s salary could also be increased. 4. Steve Smith Steve Smith. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The former Australian Test skipper Steve Smith comes fourth. Like ECB, Cricket Australia (CA) also values Test cricket more, and it considers it the ultimate format. Smith is the team’s number one ranked batter and also their current leading run-scorer. Currently, Smith gets $ 4 million by CA each year. He features in all three formats and is Australia’s rock in the middle-order. Apart from that, Smith, like Kohli, gets enough from the endorsements too, and is the team’s popular face. Although his sandpaper controversy in 2018 put hit his reputation, he came back even stronger from it and has made his bat talk. 5. Jos Butter Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, like Stokes and Archer, plays all three formats for England. Over the past two years, has also staged a comeback into the Test team. And due to that, he now features in the ECB’s Test and white-ball list. Currently, he earns19 crores from ECB each year. Apart from that, he also mints a huge amount of money due to brand endorsements and by playing IPL. Jos Buttler is also the designated Test vice-captain of the team. With good three to four years still left in him, he could end up earning much more than the other celebrated names in cricket.

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5 players who earn more money than Virat Kohli in international cricket

Here we bring you players who earn more than Indian skipper Virat Kohli in international cricket.

4. Steve Smith

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