The Coronavirus pandemic has taken over the world as the sports universe has come to a standstill. All the significant sporting events of 2020, like the IPL, The Olympics, Wimbledon, French Open, and several others, received a negative impact because of this viral outbreak. Nevertheless, the cricketers have tried their best to turn this negative situation into a positive one with their live sessions and podcasts on the internet.
The top cricket stars are trying their best to reach out to their fans. Some cricketers have even expressed readiness to stay in quarantine and play behind closed doors to entertain the audience sitting at home. Speaking of the top three highest-paid Indian players in IPL 2020, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma have also been active on social media.
They will miss out on their massive paychecks if the tourney does not take place this year. However, many fans would not know that their salaries were pretty low in the inaugural edition of the IPL. Here’s a look at how much Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma earned by playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, and Deccan Chargers in IPL 2008.
Virat Kohli:
The current Indian skipper Virat Kohli was a part of the U-19 draft in IPL 2008. Delhi Daredevils ignored him in the draft as Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him for just INR 12 lakhs. The right-handed batsman had an average season with the bat as the legendary names in the squad overshadowed him. However, his franchise retained their trust in him. Twelve years later, Kohli is the most popular player in the world, having an IPL deal worth INR 17 crores with the same franchise.
Rohit Sharma:
The most successful captain in IPL history, Rohit Sharma started his career at the Deccan Chargers. The franchise had a dismal season in 2008 as they finished at the bottom of the points table. Unlike Virat Kohli, Sharma received a bigger package in IPL 2008 because he had been a part of the Indian squad that won the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 in South Africa. The Chargers bought Rohit for INR 3 crores. Currently, the Hitman is a part of Mumbai Indians, who pay him a fee of INR 15 crores.
MS Dhoni:
MS Dhoni has been the captain of the Chennai Super Kings since day one. Although the franchise received a ban in 2015, Thala took over the reins of the team when they came back in 2018. The Ranchi-based wicket-keeper batsman was the most expensive player in IPL Auction 2008 as Chennai shelled out INR 6 crores for him. Twelve years later, the same franchise is paying Dhoni INR 15 crores to don the yellow jersey.
