The Indian Premier League has come to be known as one of the most difficult to play in, and entertaining tournaments all over the globe. The players when playing in this tournament put in a lot of effort to make their team win, and their owners pay a lot to get them in too. So, here’s a look at the name of the 10 highest earning bowlers in IPL.
- Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami when he started playing in the Indian Premier League, did not have much of a loaded resume, but once he got into the groove and got a hang of playing in an action-packed tournament, he did get the worth for the efforts that he had put in. After playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, for a sum of Rs 10,00,000, he was bought by the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils and after that, he stuck around with the franchise for the following few seasons. When he in the subsequent seasons was picked by the Kings XI Punjab who are now called Punjab Kings, he got to the contract amount that stands for him to date. Over the years, his earnings have totalled up to Rs 34,70,00,000 making him the 10th placed player in the list of the highest-earning bowlers in IPL.
- Amit Mishra
A true veteran of the Indian Premier League, if there had to be picked any, Amit Mishra, a bowler who comes in, does his share of work and leaves without much pomp and show, is the player who is the 9th placed player in the list of the highest-earning bowlers in IPL. While he has spent most of his time playing for the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils and the newer Delhi Capitals, the biggest paycheck that he got was when he was picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2014 edition of the tournament, when he got Rs 4,75,00,000. Nothing has changed much from then on as he continues to get the compensation for the work that he puts in for each game, which has totalled up to a sum of Rs 35,75,00,000.
- Jaydev Unadkat
A hard toiler in the domestic circuit who in his heydays used to be one of the most expensive bowlers in the tournament, Jaydev Unadkat is the player coming in at number 8 in this list of the highest-earning bowlers in IPL. Having had humble beginnings in the year 2011, when he was signed up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for an amount of Rs 1,15,00,000 Unadkat continued playing in the IPL, going back and forth between teams over the years, before all of the efforts that he had put in over the years paid for him when he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for a record sum of Rs 11,50,00,000. Since then his paycheck has shrunk a little, but it remains enough to push his total income from the tournament all the way up to Rs 36,41,50,000.
- Pat Cummins
One of the many overseas players in the league to have made it into this list, Pat Cummins is the bowler coming in at the number 7 position in the list of the highest-earning bowlers in IPL. He was first picked up to play in the Indian Premier League in the year 2014 by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a sum of Rs 1,00,00,000. He then went on to the Delhi Daredevils for IPL 2017 who paid Rs 4,50,00,000. After a two-year-long hiatus, one of which was due to an injury that he had incurred, he broke records in the IPL 2020 auction, where he was the most expensive player as the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 15,50,00,000. Thanks to this insane contract, which continues into IPL 2021, his total earnings in the Indian Premier League stand at the moment at Rs 37,50,00,000.
- Rashid Khan
A spin bowling sensation from Afghanistan, who took over the Indian Premier League by storm, since the day he started playing the tournament back in the year 2017, Rashid Khan is the 6th highest earning bowler in IPL. In his first season of the tournament, he was being paid a sum of Rs 4,00,00,000. But, as the next season came by, his payment rose to as high as Rs 9,00,00,000, and it has been the same till IPL 2021, as he has been retained by the same franchise, the Sunrisers Hyderabad year after year, thanks to the value he has brought in for the franchise.
- Dale Steyn
One of the biggest names in the Indian Premier League and probably the most feared one too, in his heydays, Dale Steyn is the 5th highest earning bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League. In the year 2008, his salary, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore was Rs. 1,30,52,000. And the numbers went nowhere but up, with a dip coming in around the 2016 season of the tournament, which was around the time when he started to lose out on the edge that he had in his bowling. The last season that he was picked in by a franchise was the 2020 edition, where RCB picked him for an amount of Rs 2,00,00,000. His total IPL earnings come up to the sum of Rs 47,15,08,250, making him the 4th of highest-earning bowlers in IPL.
- Lasith Malinga
Another pace bowling sensation on the list, Lasith Malinga is one of the two players in this list to have played for a single franchise during their stay in the Indian Premier League. After being picked by the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season of the tournament, he has never switched teams and has made sure that during his stay with the franchise he gave them the worth for the money that was invested on him. And this was also one of the reasons why the franchise kept on picking him year after year. His income peaked in the 2014 edition of IPL, with the amount reaching Rs 9,50,00,000. Malinga, just like Steyn, played his last season of IPL in 2020, and by then he had earned a total amount of Rs 48,22,19,500, putting him at the 4th spot in the list of the highest-earning bowlers in IPL.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The third pace bowler entering this list, that too at the third spot in the list of the highest-earning bowlers in IPL, is Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Having started his run, in the tournament with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009, he quickly made his way through the ranks and became one of the highest-earning bowlers of the tournament. His contract saw an astronomical rise in the 2014 edition of IPL, and it wasn’t until the 2018 season that he saw another pay raise, when his salary was escalated to an amount which comes out to be Rs 8,50,00,000, pumping up his total income from playing in the tournament all the way up to Rs 51,72,62,778.
- Harbhajan Singh
A legend of the game of cricket, Harbhajan Singh is a player slotted in at the second spot in the list of players with the highest salary in the Indian Premier League. Just like many other players in this list, Harbhajan has switched many franchises over the years, currently playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. In the very first season of the tournament, he saw the teams shelling out some insane amounts of money to have him in their team. When his form and ‘impact’ saw a dip in the time around the 2018 edition of the tournament, he was relieved by the Mumbai Indians off his duties and was bought by the Chennai Super Kings, after playing with whom for the next three seasons, he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2021. His total income over the years comes up to be a total of Rs 58,14,00,000.
- Sunil Narine
Probably one of the most famous names of the Indian Premier League, Sunil Narine is the player who holds the crown of being the highest-earning bowler in IPL, with his total earnings totalling up to Rs 95,24,78,000. Just like some other players in this list, Narine since his debut in the IPL has played for only one franchise, which is the Kolkata Knight Riders. After the 2012 season of the tournament, which was the first one he ever played in, his contract amount has gone nowhere but up and currently rests at Rs 12,50,00,000, after starting out at Rs 3,51,89,000 when was first picked up by KKR. His rise in stature and utility has been complemented by his salary, which has risen proportionately.
