Peek Into Some of The Highest Paid IPL Cricketers in The Last 15 Years

India is a country of enormous cricket lovers, and we can understand why. You see, cricket is not just a game, but an emotion. The roar of the fans with a boundary and a six dictates the enthusiasm of the stadium. Cricket as a game is a very performance-demanding sport. Players get into intense training in order to make the most out of their skills. In this article will let you know about the highest paid IPL cricketers in the last 15 years.

And with these skills, comes good or rather great pay. Over the years, cricket has evolved significantly in order to grasp more energy and thrill to the game. The Indian Premier League is a very popular cricket league in India that was founded around 2007 by the BCCI. The IPL was recorded as the first sport to be broadcast live on YouTube.

When it comes to the teams, about ten city teams play at an extreme competitive level. Records indicate that in 2015, the Indian Premier League provided about $140 million to the GDP of India. In 2022, the Indian Premier League achieved decacorn status with an overall valuation of about $10.9 billion. 

There are some key players, who are paid handsomely for the performance they have delivered. Let us dive into some of the cricketers in IPL who have earned the most in the last 15 years.

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma plays for Mumbai Indians and has earned about Rs. 178.6 crore. Rohit Sharma also plays for the Indian National Cricket team and has garnered several wins for our country. Mumbai Indians, being an Ambani franchise has Rohit Sharma as one of their esteemed cricketers. 

Rohit Sharma debuted in the IPL in 2008, playing for Deccan Chargers for about Rs. 4.8 crore. But it was until 2011, when we joined Mumbai Indians, after being paid about Rs. 9.2 crore. The Mumbai Indians have considered Rohit Sharma as one of their top performers. In 2014, Rohit Sharma’s fee increased to about Rs.12.5 crore. 

But gradually, it got increased to about Rs. 15 crore in 2018 and to about Rs. 16 crore in 2022 auction. From 2013 to 2020, Rohit Sharma aced with several titles and became a consistent performer in the game of cricket. Rohit Sharma has played about 232 matches in the IPL, where he scored about 6014 runs. 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Mahi) plays for the Chennai Super Kings and has earned about Rs. 176.8 crore. The former Indian skipper, M.S. Dhoni has been a wicketkeeper and a batsman for Chennai Super Kings, since 2008.

With a salary of about Rs. 6 crore, Mahi has been one of the greatest assets for Chennai Super Kings. In 2010, CSK won the title which led to an increase in Dhoni’s salary to about Rs. 8.2 crore. In 2014, Chennai Super King continued their collaboration with M.S. Dhoni after paying him about Rs. 12.5 crore. 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced in 2020 about retiring from international cricket. Dhoni scored about 4,878 runs in IPL and has charmed us all with his performance.

Virat Kohli-

Virat Kohli is the third highest paid cricketer in the IPL. He has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore and has earned about Rs. 173.2 crore. Virat Kohli was paid about Rs. 12 lakh in 2008. In 2011, Royal Challengers Bangalore paid him about Rs. 8.2 crore to play for the team. 

In 2014, Virat was paid about Rs. 12.5 crore due to his impeccable rising levels of performance. And in 2018, Virat Kohli’s price went up to Rs. 17 crore. Although, Virat stepped down from his skipper position from all forms of cricket, his pay was positioned at around Rs. 15 crore.

Reports suggest that Virat Kohli could play with the same pay in 2023.  After playing 229 matches in the IPL, Virat Kohli has scored about 6,903 runs. 

Suresh Raina-

Suresh Raina is a stellar cricketer and has been one of the highest paid performers in IPL. In his IPL career, Suresh Raina has earned about Rs. 110.74 crore. Back in 2008, Chennai Super Kings paid Suresh Raina about Rs. 2.6 crore for playing with the team. Suresh has been a consistent performer in the Indian Premier League. 

Chennai Super Kings retained Suresh Raina with about Rs. 5.9 crore in 2011. Suresh Raina is also known as ‘Mr. IPL’. He has played around 205 matches in the IPL, where he scored about 5,528 runs. Suresh Raina is now reported to have retired from IPL from September 2022. 

Ravindra Jadeja-

Ravindra Jadeja is another top performer in the Indian Premier League. He earned about Rs. 109 crore. Jadeja had faced several challenges during his IPl career. But he has managed to maintain his performance.

In 2012, Chennai Super Kings collaborated with Ravindra Jadeja by paying about Rs. 9.2 crore. Ravindra Jadeja’s current pay is about Rs 16 crore, as per reports. In about 215 matches in IPL, Ravindra Jadega scored about 2,541 runs.

Sunil Narine-

Internationally, Sunil Narine plays for the West Indies. In the Indian Premier League, Sunil plays for Kolkata Knight Riders. He has earned about Rs. 107.2 crore. Since 2012, Sunil Narine has been playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. 

When he debuted his IPL career, Sunil was paid about Rs. 3.51 crore for his super bowling skills. In about 10 years in the IPL, Sunil Narine played in about 154 matches, where he took around 158 wickets. 

The Indian Premier League is a tremendous high energy game of cricket. Fans do love the vibe and the smashing performances of the cricketers. We are a country where cricket emotions always get appreciated. Over the years, India has seen supreme players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and so on. The passion for cricket shall always run through our minds as we dive more into the beauty of the game. 

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