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The introduction of major cricket competitions such as the IPL has led to some huge payouts for the best players in the game. If you have ever wondered who the highest earners are, here is the current list.
Highest Paid Cricketers in the World (2024)
1. Virat Kohli
- Monthly Salary: $690k
- Net Worth: $140 Million
At the very top of the tree is the man who led Indian cricket in all three formats for many years. All of the figures shown are based on base salary and Virat Kolhi tops the list with a mighty monthly wage packet of $690k.
When you consider how much in demand Kohli is, he’s an obvious name at the very top. As captain of India and a vital part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Premier League for so many years, his fans would say that he’s worth every single cent.
2. Dean Elgar
- Monthly Salary: $440k
- Net Worth: $40 million
There are few shocks on this list but Dean Elgar’s inclusion at number two may be a surprise. After all, he doesn’t get picked up by the IPL franchises and isn’t seen as a T20 player. T20 brings in the crowds and the biggest sums of money so why is he here?
Elgar is a patient opening batsman who has recently taken over the captaincy of the South African test team. He has featured in the international limited overs set up but his main role now is to oversee the red ball unit.
Those salary numbers are actually very interesting because they underline just how much money is in the modern game in all of its formats.
3. Joe Root
- Monthly Salary: $400k
- Net Worth: $3.3 million
Joe Root is another player who passes under the radar of the IPL. He’s never been signed by a franchise but has featured in the Big Bash and England’s T20. Root has just announced his retirement as skipper of the England test team and that has been his main source of income over the years.
The fact that he has a monthly salary of $400K underlines the value of central contracts. He’s been a prolific run scorer in the longest form of cricket and those salary numbers underline to young players that there is money to be made from the first class game.
4. Eoin Morgan
- Monthly Salary: $320k
- Net Worth: $15 million
It’s only fair that a World Cup winning captain should be rewarded for his achievements and that’s been the case with Eoin Morgan. He has led England in both Limited Overs formats for many years now with the highlight coming in 2019.
Victory at that 2019 World Cup helped to boost an income which was backed by stints in the IPL. Morgan was without an IPL franchise in 2022 so we may see those numbers dip but $320k remains an impressive monthly salary for now.
5. Rohit Sharma
- Monthly Salary: $170k
- Net Worth: $25 Million
Rohit Sharma has just inherited the Indian international captaincy from Virat Kohli so could we see him move up this list in the near future. Like his predecessor, Rohit is also heavily involved with the IPL – skippering the Mumbai Indians franchise through most of their successful period.
While he’s at an advanced stage of his career, the fact that Rohit has just taken on the national captaincy means that we should see his salary figures increase.
6. Aaron Finch
- Monthly Salary: $150k
- Net Worth: $5.5 million
As captain of Australia in the limited overs formats, we should expect to see Aaron Finch claim a place on this list. He’s also been a regular player in the Indian Premier League for many years and he takes his place in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for 2022.
Finch excels in the T20 form of the game and his 172 against Zimbabwe in 2018 is the highest international T20 score of all time. If he maintains that kind of level, Finch will remain in the top ten highest earners list for many years.
7. Kraigg Brathwaite
- Monthly Salary: $80k
- Net Worth: $9 million
Some of the figures on this list go to prove just how valuable international captaincy must be. Kraigg Brathwaite may be a new name to some but he is the leader of the West Indies in red ball cricket and is a very accomplished and patient batsman.
Once again, his efforts at test level underline that there is some serious money to be made in the red ball form of the game and it gives players in the longer format an incentive to progress.
8. Temba Bavuma
- Monthly Salary: $70k
- Net Worth: $2.3 million
Following on with a familiar pattern, we have South Africa’s limited overs captain Temba Bavuma. While he may be in charge of the national team in the short forms of cricket, Bavuma is not a player who is widely considered to be an option for T20 franchises around the world.
This continues to underline the importance of central contracts in all ICC nations. A salary of $70k per month is a significant figure and it’s the type of sum that may keep Bavuma away from the IPL and other tournaments if they were to make an inquiry about his services.
9. Kieron Pollard
- Monthly Salary: $47k
- Net Worth: $15 million
West Indian star all rounder Kieron Pollard ticks all of the boxes on this list. He is a captain of his team at international level and he also plays a key role in the Indian Premier League and other major T20 tournaments.
Pollard plays for Mumbai Indians, the most successful team in IPL history, and he has played a role in many of their best performances. He’s also won the T20 World Cup with the West Indies so we should expect to see him rewarded financially with a salary of $47k and a net worth of some $15 million.
He’s now reached his mid-30s but, as he focuses solely on the shorter forms of the game, we can expect Kieron Pollard to maintain his place in the list of Top Ten earners for some time to come.
10. Kane Williamson
- Monthly Salary: $37k
- Net Worth: $10 million
While they may be very different cricketers, Kane Williamson performs a very similar role to that of Kieron Pollard. He captains New Zealand at international level and we can always expect him to feature in the IPL.
In Williamson’s case, he is in charge of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in 2022 and the Kiwi has featured for this team for some time. He is in demand as a cricketer in many major T20 tournaments but his first commitment tends to be for New Zealand.
Kane Williamson will therefore command a high salary as a contracted player within the national set up and he supplements those figures with considerable payments via the Indian Premier League.
