No matter how they do on field, international umpires still earn eye-popping money

Umpires around the world have come under the scanner in recent times for not being able to carry out their duty flawlessly, even in a tournament of the magnitude of the World Cup. The final of the quadrennial event witnessed a major goof-up as the on-field umpire awarded an extra run to England in a thrilling chase and the hosts eventually ended up as the champions by the virtue of hitting more boundaries.

During the early phase of the tournament as well, umpires had come under criticism for various blunders. Yet after these backlashes, umpires are considered to be important people for the smooth execution of the game. And what is even more head-turning is the amount of money they bag for officiating games. According to a report by Sports Eon, the annual fee of an umpire from the ICC’s elite panel ranges between the US $35,000 and $45,000 (between Rs 24 lakh approx. to Rs 31 lakh approx.).

On top of that, the umpires also get a match fee of US $3,000 for Tests, $2,200 for ODIs and $1,000 for T20Is. An elite umpire officiates in 8-10 Tests and 10-15 ODIs in a year which means he pockets around the US $46,000 (Rs 32 lakh approx.) over their annual fee. In mega tournaments like World Cup or the Champions Trophy, their earnings go up even further.

The 10 highest paid umpires are…

The 10 highest paid umpires in international cricket now are: Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Billy Bowden (New Zealand), Nigel Llong (England), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Bruce Oxenford (Australia), Ian Gould (England), Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Richard Illingworth (England) and Richard Kettle-Borough (England). These umpires’ annual fees range between the US $35,000 to $45,000.

Besides the international events, the umpires have also a huge earning opportunity to tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL). According to a report by DailyHunt, IPL umpires can earn the massive US $2,500 on average for a match which comes to roughly Rs 1.7 lakh for every game that they officiate.

The ICC umpires are also entitled to travel across the world for business purposes completely free of cost, thanks to the body’s deal with the Fly Emirates and also stay in the finest hotels absolutely free, reported MensXP.