Highest Salaried IPL Cricketers: The player salary in IPL has hit the roof. Lucknow Super Giants bought KL Rahul for INR 17 crores last season. It matched the highest salary of all-time in IPL along with Virat Kohli (2018-21). There are superstars who have amassed massive sums right since the inception of the league. It is little surprise that the giants of the game appear in the echelons of the highest salaried earners in the IPL.
We look at the top 3 highest salaried IPL cricketers of all time:
#3 Virat Kohli IPL Salary
He is the leading batsman in IPL history. Virat Kohli had a relatively silent start to his IPL career. The Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Kohli for a meagre sum of INR 12 lacs/season in the 2008-10 cycle. Kohli’s stocks rose rapidly in the next cycle as he was paid INR 8.2 crores/season from 2011-13.
The heights of Kohli:
It was in the phase from 2014 onward that Kohli scaled new peaks. He was paid INR 12.5 crores/season in the 2014-17 cycle. Kohli became the highest-paid cricketer in IPL history in 2018 when he was paid INR 17 crores/per season. He took home INR 68 crores in that phase (2018-21). RCB retained Kohli in 2022 for INR 15 crores. Kohli’s total IPL earnings through salary amount to INR 158.2 crores.
#2 Rohit Sharma IPL Salary
He is the most successful IPL skipper having led the Mumbai Indians to 5 titles. Rohit Sharma is the only player in IPL history to have won 6 IPL trophies. Sharma’s international career coincided with his meteoric rise in the IPL.
The Deccan Chargers phase:Hyderabad invested in young Sharma in 2008 when they bought him for INR 3 crores/season (2008-10). In arguably the biggest release of all time in IPL, Deccan Chargers released Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2011 auction.
The Mumbai sojourn:
Mumbai bought Sharma for INR 9.2 crores/season in the 2011 mega auction for the three-year cycle (2011-13). His retention from then on was a no-brainer as Sharma was paid INR 12.5 crores/season in the 2014-17 cycle.
Sharma amassed INR 60 crores in the next four years earning INR 15 crores/season in the 2018-21 phase. He was MI’s first retention in 2022 when he was paid INR 16 crores. His overall IPL earnings come to a massive INR 162.6 crores.
#1 MS Dhoni IPL Salary
He became the biggest brand in the IPL when he entered the inaugural auction in 2008. Chennai Super Kings bought Dhoni for a whopping price of INR 6 crores per season (2008-10) in the auction. They went on to retain him in all the next auction cycles. Dhoni was paid INR 8.2 crores per season in the 2011-13 cycle.
The salary hike:
His salary received a massive boost in the 2014-17 cycle wherein he received INR 12.5 crores per season. It again went up a notch in the 2018-21 cycle wherein Dhoni drew INR 15 crores/season. He was CSK’s second retention in IPL 2022 wherein he was signed for INR 12 crores. His cumulative IPL earnings stand at INR 164.8 crores.
