5 players who earn more money than Virat Kohli in international cricket

When we speak about the highest-paid cricketers or athletes across the world playing different sports, one person’s name stands tall among the list Virat Kohli. The former Indian skipper is currently the only player from the country to be featured in the Forbes’ rich list of top 100 athletes in 2020. He is currently in the 66th position with a staggering income of close to 196 crores. This whopping amount he has generated due to getting an A+ contract from the BCCI and earns seven crores each year from it.

Also, Kohli is the highest-paid IPL cricketer as he gets 17 crores each year, since the 2018 season by playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Apart from that, he has several brand endorsement deals due to his immense popularity and huge fan following among youths across the world.

While many would assume he is the highest-paid cricketer by and large due to the insane numbers, but that is not to be. Yes, you heard it right. There are at least five cricketers who draw more salaries than Kohli. While the Indian skipper might be getting more money due to IPL and brand endorsements, few of his counterparts earn more than him by purely playing cricket.

Here are players who earn more than Virat Kohli through playing cricket

1. Joe Root

England’s Test skipper Joe Root features first in the list. As surprised and shocked one would be seeing his name, those who follow England Cricket Board (ECB)’s domestic contract system know a thing or two about the varied contract structures they have, when it comes to giving salaries. Although the ECB said that they will bring in changes to the contract system, the existing one will remain till the end of 2021.

This current contract system by ECB gives priority to Test cricket and as the captain of the England team, Root earns an astonishing amount of £7,00,000 annually (Rs. 7.22 crore approx) from the ECB, which is marginally more than the 7 crores Kohli gets. Root’s jaw-dropping numbers place him ahead of Kohli, and make him the highest-paid Test captain across teams too.

Although Kohli earns more through brand endorsements, cricket-wise Root is leading the chart owing to a handsome salary he gets from ECB.