Former India head coach Ravi Shastri recently made headlines with his candid revelation about the staggering earnings of India’s cricketing superstars. During a conversation on the Stick to Cricket Podcast, former England captain Michael Vaughan asked Shastri about the kind of money top Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar earn. Shastri’s answer was nothing short of jaw-dropping.
“They earn a lot,” Ravi Shastri remarked casually. “A lot through endorsements, for sure—and upwards of ₹100 crores.” Michael Vaughan, curious about the conversion, asked for a clearer picture in pounds. Shastri responded with a simple calculation: “That’s about 10 million pounds. I’d just take one hundred rupees as one pound and work backwards. You could even go upwards of that.”
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While the sport may not enjoy the same global reach as football or basketball, cricketers in India, particularly icons like Virat Kohli, Dhoni, and Tendulkar, have carved out empires through both performance and brand power. Shastri emphasised that these stars could’ve taken on even more advertisements during their peak years, if not for their jam-packed schedules.
“WOW!” 🤯
Ravi Shastri reveals the eye-watering salaries of India’s top cricketers 🤑 pic.twitter.com/H2GQPVCMs7
— Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) July 24, 2025
“Someone like MS, Virat, or Sachin in his prime—they were doing 15 to 20 endorsements. And it’s usually just a day per brand per year,” he revealed. “There was no time for more. The cricket calendar was just too full.”
Meanwhile, on the field in Manchester, England took command of the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. After India posted 358 runs—thanks to fifties from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, and Rishabh Pant—the English openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley responded with a stunning 166-run partnership.
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Zak Crawley eventually fell for 84, but not before putting England in a commanding position. At stumps on Day 2, England had trimmed India’s lead to just 133 runs, with the hosts well and truly in control. England skipper Ben Stokes also shone, taking a memorable five-wicket haul—his first in eight years—to derail India’s innings.
