There is no denying the fact that cricket is one of teh most entertaining sports around the world and because of that cricketers have managed to earn some big bucks. The limited-over versions of the sport have raised the popularity of the game among the views in the last decade or so. T20 cricket in both International and domestic games has become an efficient way of earning for the cricketers. In the shortest format of the same, the Indian Premier League certainly comes up at the top of the list of competitions. Indian players earn big alongside foreign stars.

There is a big surprise when it comes to the salaries of captains of the international teams. It is because most people would think that the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli must be at the top of the pile, but that’s not true. Here are the salaries of international cricket captains-

#8 Dimuth Karunaratne – INR 51.03 lakh, Kusal Perera – INR 25 lakh (Sri Lanka)

After their historical T20 World Cup triumph in 2014 against India, the Sri Lanka team has only witnessed a downfall. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the financial state of the players has become a matter of concern. They have changed their captains 9 times in the last four years. As per the latest contracts, Test captain, Dimuth Karunaratne receives an annual salary of USD 70,000 on the other hand, the white-ball skipper Kusal Perera gets $35,000 per year.

#7 Babar Azam – INR 62.40 lakh (Pakistan)

Babar Azam is currently standing at the numero uno position in the ICC ODI rankings and he also leads his national side in all three formats. Azam had a terrific last few years as a batsman. He fetches an annual salary of 13.2 Million PKR, which is INR 62.40 lakh approximately.

#6 Kieron Pollard – 1.73 crore, Kraigg Brathwaite – 1.39 crore (West Indies)

Kieron Pollard has always been known as one of the proven match-winners in the shortest format of the game. He plays T20 cricket all around the world and earns big bucks. He leads his national team in the white-ball format and earns an annual salary of $250,000 (₹1.73 crores). On the other hand, Kraigg Brathwaite has a contract in the longest format. Hence, he receives $200,000 (₹ 1.39 crores) per season.

#5 Kane Williamson – 1.77 crore (New Zealand)

The Black Caps skipper, Kane Williamson is one of the main reasons why New Zealand has been doing so well in recent years. As per Williamson’s contract, he earns $440,000 a year from his New Zealand cricket contract. This also includes $40,000 as a special bonus for being the captain of the national team.

#4 Dean Elgar – INR 3.2 crore, Temba Bavuma – INR 2.5 crore (South Africa)

After the retirement of big stars like Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, and Morne Morkel, South Africa is losing their grip in terms of domination in world cricket. They have also two captains as Temba Bavuma got the reins of the ODI and T20I side while Dean Elgar will lead South Africa in Test matches. As far as their income is concerned, Bavuma receives $350,000 while Elgarrecoves teh payment of around $450,000.

#3 Aaron Finch – INR 4.87 crore, Tim Paine – 4.87 crores (Australia)

Aaron Finch is teh Australian skipper in ODIs and T20Is while Tim Paine handles the reins in the longest format of the game. Paine and Finch also receive a hefty sum of money, with Cricket Australia being one of the richest boards in the world. As per the latest contracts, both the Aussie captain get approximately $1m as yearly salary by Cricket Australia.

#2 Virat Kohli – INR 7 crore (India)

Surprisingly, the charismatic Indian skipper, Virat Kohli is not at the top of the highest-paid captains in international cricket. Kohli belongs to the A+ category in the BCCI contracts. Hence, he receives a significant sum of INR 7 crore per year. He was also the only Indian in Forbes’ 2021 list of highest-paid athletes.

#1 Joe Root – INR 8.97 crore, Eoin Morgan – 1.75 crores (England)

England also has two skippers for two different ball games. Eoin Morgan, who guided the national team to win the ICC cricket world cup in 2019 earns around £170,000 (1.75 crores). Joe Root, who is teh captain of the England Test team is the highest-paid International captain who earns a whopping £870,000 (8.97 crore).