Indian Premier League 2021 will begin on the 9th of April. The season opener will see the defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. After the last season, which was held in UAE, the forthcoming campaign will take place in India. IPL 2021 Auctions were an eventful episode. A number of players went for prices beyond expectation, while a few of them were surprisingly sold for less amount. Hence, the ‘highest paid’ segment of IPL 2021 has undergone a change.
In this article, we talk about the highest-paid players of IPL 2021. Since there are four players who will be earning the same amount at the upcoming edition, we have put them in one sub-heading.
4. MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Kyle Jamieson – INR 15 crore
Four cricketers will earn INR 15 crores in IPL 2021. While MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant have been doing this for a few seasons, the latest addition to this group is New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson.
The tall player was expected to trigger a bidding war at the auctions. However, very few imagined the bid to hit the roof. Royal Challengers Bangalore were in search of a proper pace bowler who could also wield his willow in the lower order. Although they went after Chris Morris and Jhye Richardson, it was Jamieson whom they settled with. The Kiwi is not in great form, though, and that will be a concern
3. Pat Cummins – INR 15.5 crore
Pat Cummins was the highest-paid cricketer at the IPL 2021 Auctions. The No.1 Test bowler at the moment, the Aussie was picked by KKR to bolster their bowling unit. For a team that had plenty of rookie Indian pacers, the inclusion of Cummins was necessary.
However, the player could not do justice to his price-tag in IPL 2020. He was expensive at times and found it hard to impact the game. Nevertheless, he came back strongly in the back end of the tournament. Amidst this, the cricketer also made a few contributions with the bat. His role at No.7 allowed KKR to be more flexible with their playing XI.
2. Chris Morris – INR 16.25 crore
Chris Morris has been hitting jackpots in IPL recently. While the tall all-rounder collected a pay-cheque of INR 10 cr last season, he received a sum of INR 16.25 cr for the upcoming campaign. Hence, he also broke the record to become the highest earner at an auction.
Although fitness was an issue, Morris delivered his best in IPL 2020. He was exceptional with his bowling, especially at the depth. He altogether changed the dimension of RCB’s bowling attack. The former Delhi Capitals cricketer also had a few good batting cameos to his name. All of this spurred Rajasthan to go hard at him in the auctions. He will now support Jofra Archer in the bowling unit, while the likes of Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes will have some insurance in the lower order.
1. Virat Kohli – INR 17 crore
At the top of the list is the man who has been enjoying the position for quite a few seasons now. Virat Kohli earns a whopping salary of INR 17 crores, and that’s the all-time highest pay packet in IPL. Of course, not to mention, the Indian captain deserves all of it.
He has been at the fulcrum of RCB’s batting unit for quite a few seasons now. Not only that, Virat’s brand value is a major plus for RCB as a franchise from a commercial point of view. That said, for Virat, too, more than the salary, it will be about winning the coveted trophy.
