Anyone who even slightly follows cricket in India would certainly know that BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world. Having said that, it is no rocket science to know that those who serve the richest cricket board in the world will be ultra-rich too.
Cricketers of course are national servants before anything else. But when you keep that national service angle out of the frame for a while and only consider talking about how much the cricketers representing India earn the answer would be, A LOT! Cricketers in India have pay scales much more than what would just qualify as being handsome. Indian cricket stars are ultra-rich! Here’s a sneak peek into the salaries that our cricketing stars get from the BCCI annually.
Virat Kohli: 20 Million (GRADE A)
He is the only Indian to feature in the Forbes List of 100 highest paid athletes of the world and also the only cricketer! Virat Kohli is at the 89th spot in the list. As for the salary received from BCCI Virat gets a handsome pay of 2 Crores per annum!
M.S Dhoni: 20 Million (GRADE A)
So what if he does not play tests anymore? He is still a star and still indispensible in the limited overs format! Mahi too gets a hefty package from the BCCI equivalent to what captain Kohli gets. M.S Dhoni pockets a package of 2 crores per annum.
R. Ashwin: 20 Million (GRADE A)
Well Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal seem to have caused certain insecurities to R. Ashwin with their googlies but Ashwin still is a top brass cricketer. Ashwin too earns 2 crores per annum as his salary from the BCCI. Bagging the ICC player of the year in 2016 has worked wonders for him!
Ravindra Jadeja: 20 million (GRADE A)
Ravindra Jadeja too is in the top bracket of pays for the 2017-2018 BCCI contracts. Jadeja too must be feeling the same as Ashwin does seeing Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal perform amazingly in the limited overs format. He hasn’t been seen much on the field this home season but in pay scales he is still the boss!
Ajinkya Rahane: 20 million (GRADE A)
Rahane is proving his worth with every game and he is only getting better and better across formats. Rahane has become a consistent and dependable batsman and this is what puts the 29 year old batsman in the top bracket. Rahane also features in the Top 10 batsman in test as per the ICC World Rankings for test cricket.
Cheteshwar Pujara: 20 million (GRADE A)
Pujara is a perfect replacement for “The Wall” in test cricket. He has made sure that India does not miss Dravid much at that crucial No 3 spot. Cheteshwar Pujara is the highest rated Indian batsman in ICC test rankings featuring at the 4th spot in the list.
Murali Vijay: 20 million (GRADE A)
He’s been out of action for a while owing to his injury but he over years have been a consistent performer for India in the test format both home and away. He has been really impressive at the top of the order and now he is all set to return to the field. He is in the top brass of contracts.
Rohit Sharma: 10 million (GRADE B)
Rohit Sharma, they dynamic opener is the Grade B of pay contracts. Rohit Sharma adds immense value to team India’s fortunes in the limited formats but is yet to establish as a test cricketer. Rohit Sharma also happens to be the Vice Captain of the team in the limited overs format and he has been in superb touch this year averaging close to 70 in ODIs.
KL Rahul: 10 million (GRADE B)
Lokesh Rahul too features in the top 10 list of ICC Test Rankings for batsmen. Rahul too has been out of the action for a while now but he still is one valuable asset to have. Rahul to his kitty has the record of 7 consecutive fifties in test innings.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 10 million (GRADE B)
He is one of those who get better game by game and recently we also saw him adding to team India’s cause with the bat too! He is one of the best death overs bowlers in the world. The competition in the pace department is hefty but he would be last one who needs to worry about his place in the team.
Umesh Yadav: 10 million (GRADE B)
The speedster to falls in the Grade B bracket and we have not seen much of him of late given the fact that Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar and Pandya have become the complacent combination of pacers in the limited overs format. He is one of the fastest in the team and he has improved his bowling by leaps and bounds and now he is no less than a Cheetah on the field.
Ishant Sharma: 10 million (GRADE B)
Ishant Sharma is only seen in the longer version of the game. Ishant certainly has his chances cut down to nil in the limited overs format but he is still one of the mandatory picks in tests. He is amply experienced and that adds much value to India’s performance in tests and India’s quest to retain the No1 spot!
Mohammed Shami: 10 million (GRADE B)
He has some impressive pace to throw at the opposition. He has been caught in the whirlpool of injuries but his numbers have been impressive. Shami has claimed 86 wickets in 25 test matches he has played so far and in the ODIs he has 91 wickets to his kitty from 50 matches.
Jasprit Bumrah: 10 million (GRADE B)
If you have to name the best bowler in death overs it would be Bumrah. His accuracy makes him one of the most effective bowlers in the limited overs games. He is yet to make his test debut but with the way he is going about his game he would soon knock the door of both test matches and the grade A of pay scales.
Yuvraj Singh: 10 million (GRADE B)
Yuvraj Singh still has a grade B contract even though he is not really on the radar of selectors and has been striving for fitness. Once one of the greatest finishers in the world and the ‘Man of the Tournament’ in the 2011 World Cup, Yuvi is now almost on the verge of a full stop to his career but he would surely want his farewell to be well staged. He is still one of our favorites!
Wriddhiman Saha: 10 million (GRADE B)
Saha is the regular wicket keeper in the longest format of the game and is improving on his batting gradually. He has 3 hundreds to his kitty and five fifties in the 28 test matches he has played so far and his keeping has been impressive too.
Shikhar Dhawan: 5 million (GRADE C)
Shikhar Dhawan has had a dream run of form in 2017. He was the highest run getter in the ICC Champions Trophy that India lost in the Finals and he is almost living a revival phase. Gabbar has been demoted to grade C but he is picking on form briskly. The fearless left hand batsman this year has scored 700 runs in ODIs at a handsome average of 46.7.
Amit Mishra: 5 million (GRADE C)
The spinner finds himself in the list of grade C cricketers when it comes to pay scales. Hasn’t been seen on the field much in fact he was last time seen in India’s jersey when India played England for a T20 series.
Ambati Rayudu: 5 million (GRADE C)
June 22, 2016 was the last time he played for India against Zimbabwe. He has not been seen after that but still he managed to get a contract with the BCCI and he must be happy about it.
Manish Pandey: 5 million (GRADE C)
Manish Pandey has been a regular feature of the Indian side recently. He has got many opportunities but haven’t really capitalized on them. Indian team management is putting in everything to groom him for the 2019 World Cup. He is immensely talented and one of the fittest but he needs to perform.
Axar Patel: 5 million (GRADE C)
Axar Patel too has been getting opportunities regularly. He is seen as someone who can contribute both with the bat and the bowl. He has some grand competition to make a place in the team and the only option he has is to make the most of the chances he get.
Karun Nair: 5 million (GRADE C)
He seemed to promising when he hit that mighty triple hundred but post that he faded as fog fades away with time. He has miserably failed to click after that triple century and he has failed across formats! He has only managed 374 runs in 6 test matches.
Hardik Pandaya: 5 million (GRADE C)
Just wait for it! He would leave everyone behind given how he growing in stature with each game. It was only recent that he made his first appearance in international cricket and in no time he has become a compulsion in the line-up. He can do wonders with both bat and bowl and he is already being seen as the new era Kapil Dev. This is just the beginning and he has a long way to go! He is meant for the skies!
Ashish Nehra: 5 million (GRADE C)
He is all set to say goodbye to the game on November 1 at his home ground yet BCCI has put him in the grade C list of contracts. The 38 year old Delhi speedster will always be remembered for his seam and comedy.
Kedar Yadav: 5 million (GRADE C)
He has been good with both the bat and the bowl and adds some value to the lower middle order with his explosive batting style. He is still to cement a place in the side because there has been an issue of consistency with him.
Jayant Yadav: 5 million (GRADE C)
Do you still remember him? We got to see too little of him as yet but he was too impressive in that too little. The spinner has only got 4 opportunities in Tests and has bagged 11 wickets. He is one of the best batsmen among spinners but if you see his competition for the spot you would realise how tough the road is for him!
Parthiv Patel: 5 million (GRADE C)
He is here because he is the standby keeper in the pool after Saha in the Test version of the game. He last played a test match for India in 2016 in Chennai against England.
Yuzvendra Chahal: 5 million (GRADE C)
The RCB spinner has made his way to the Indian side and he has given some serious jitters to Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin with his phenomenal performances both in ODIs and T20s. Still early days for him and if he maintains this form he would soon see himself promoting up the grades.
Rishab Pant: 5 million (GRADE C)
He is immensely young and amazingly talented! He is an explosive batsman and has been really impressive in the IPL and this is what makes him feature in the list of contracts! He would only be happy to see his name here and he needs to walk a lot many yards of hard work to grow as a cricketer and fit into M.S Dhoni’s shows as a wicket keeper once Mahi hangs his gloves.
Mandeep Singh: 5 million (GRADE C)
The Punjabi lad has had the privilege of playing 3 T20s for India during the 2016 series against Zimbabwe. Featuring in the list would be a great boost for his confidence.
Shardul Thakur: 5 million (GRADE C)
The 25 year old pacer made his debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year and has played two ODIs for India. He would only be happy to fetch a contract and would want to work hard seeking encouragement from the same.
Dhawal Kulkarni: 5 million (GRADE C)
He is a bowler highly talked about in the domestic circles. He has played 12 ODIs for India and also 2 T20s and has performed recently. He too finds a place in the list of BCCI contracts for the year 2017-2018.
By Divesh Gill
