Bulging wallets: Salary difference from 2008 to 2020 of top 5 IPL stars

Kohli

IPL is by far the richest cricket league in the World and was estimated to be valued at a whopping $5.7 billion in 2019. This has been possible not just because of India’s love for cricket but also because all the big names of cricket play in the IPL.

Nail-biting, last over finishes with extraordinary performances by individuals leave fans gasping for more. It is then obvious, in such a loved, popular and extremely rich league, the biggest players are valued highly. A number of IPL players have exorbitant salaries. A lot of them have played right from the beginning in 2008 and as they have grown in stature, their salaries have multiplied as well.  Let us have a look at the top 5 players and their salary difference from 2008 and 2020.

Note – (Players who are still active in IPL considered. Source– Wikipedia and Insidesport Moneyball)

5. MS Dhoni – 9 crores

MS Dhoni can be regarded as one of the most important reasons for the birth of IPL. Had his team not won the T20 World Cup in 2007, IPL would never have begun.  After the World Cup, Dhoni, the winning captain had become the toast of the nation and his popularity had shot up. Hence there was no surprise when teams at the auction table of the inaugural season of the IPL were keen to have Dhoni in their team. He was eventually snapped up by Chennai Super Kings, for 6 crores which made him the then most expensive player in the league. And as they say, the rest is history.

Dhoni justified the massive amount by leading CSK to two consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011. He was rewarded handsomely with his salary increased to 12.5 cr in 2014. In 2018, his salary became 15cr, making him one of the most expensive players in the IPL and once again Dhoni showed why he deserved that price despite giving up Indian captaincy as he heroically led CSK to another title in 2018.

4. Ab de Villiers – 9.8 crores

Ab de Villiers, easily one of the most destructive batsmen to have played the game started off with 1.2 crores in 2008 when Delhi Capitals lapped him up after his good showing in the 50 over World Cup in 2007. While de Villiers didn’t disappoint and was even their highest run-getter in 2009, the Delhi Capitals let him go for the 2011 season. Here, he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a much higher price of 5.8 crores. The investment in de Villiers paid rich dividends for RCB.

‘Mr 360’ became one of the mainstays of RCB’s batting and single-handedly won them a number of games. His value was realised when his fee was hiked to 7.5 cr and then to 11 cr for the 2018 season. But despite earning such a huge amount, it can be said with the match-winning abilities de Villiers brings to the table, he deserves to receive an even higher amount.

3. Manish Pandey – 10.94 crores

Manish Pandey was one of the most exciting prospects in 2008 and Mumbai Indians lapped him up for a good price of 6 lakh. He didn’t get too many chances there and moved to his city team Royal Challengers Bangalore for 2009 where he got 12 lakhs. He showed his prowess as he became the first Indian to score a ton in the IPL in 2009. However, he couldn’t do much beyond that innings and his next stop was Pune Warriors India.

2014 is when he got a permanent home as he was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for 1.7 crore. Pandey, who by then was an India prospect and a consistent domestic performer became an integral part of KKR for 4 years and even scored a match-winning 94 in the 2014 finals. In the 2018 mega-auction, with teams realising the importance of a reliable, Indian middle-order batsman, Pandey’s demand hit the roofs and he went to Sunrisers Hyderabad at a jaw-dropping 11 cr becoming one of the highest-paid players from the Auction.

2. Rohit Sharma – 12.10 crores

The most successful IPL captain, Rohit Sharma’s journey started with Deccan Chargers in 2008, where he was taken in for an amount of 2.9 cr which was considerably high for a 20-year-old. But Rohit had shown his promise in the preceding T20 World Cup and CB series and was touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. He lived up to the promise and played consistently for them for 3 years and even had an integral part to play in their title-winning year in 2009.

In the 2011 mega-auction, Mumbai Indians decided to pay big bucks for Rohit and roped him in for 9 cr. But the magic began in 2013 when Rohit Sharma was appointed the captain and he responded with their first title. His fee was hiked to 12.5 cr 2014 onwards and Rohit led Mumbai to 2 more titles. Every year Sharma’s value kept increasing and in 2018 he was retained by the franchise for a huge sum of 15 cr. By winning the title once again in 2019, Sharma proved why he deserved every penny.

1. Virat Kohli – 16.88 crores

The highest-paid player in the league currently is none other than modern master Virat Kohli. In 2008, fresh from leading the U-19 Indian team to World Cup victory, the talented and aggressive batsman was drafted in by Royal Challengers Bangalore for 12 lakhs. He didn’t perform as was expected of him in the IPL but his international performances kept him in the fray of things.

In 2011, Kohli who was a World Cup winner and had had two very successful seasons in ODIs, was the only player retained by RCB for a much higher 8.1 cr. Kohli’s stocks kept rising in International cricket and in 2013 he was also named RCB’s skipper. By 2014, Kohli was regarded as one of the best batsmen of this generation and his fee was further hiked to 12.5 cr. While Kohli couldn’t lead RCB to a single title win, his individual performances kept improving and in 2016 he had an unbelievable season with 973 runs. In 2018, Kohli was retained at an unfathomable sum of 17cr, the highest ever.