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The world witnessed some phenomenal action from Indian cricketers in the year 2018. Be it the Asia Cup, the ODI series against South Africa and West Indies, the Nidahas Trophy or any other T20 series of 2018, the Indian cricketers gave memorable performances throughout. For their effort and hard work, they deserve high perks which they end up getting more often than not.
In 2018, some Indian cricketers were able to double their earnings while there were also a select few who earned half of what they earned in 2017. Looking at the performances of Indian cricketers, it was anything but natural for big companies to exploit and leverage their popularity by roping them in for advertising their brands.
According to the Forbes list of top 100 Indian Celebrities, Virat Kohli not only remained the highest-earning cricketer but also remained the highest-earner sportsperson in India for 2018.
Only Salman Khan -- the Bollywood-star -- was ahead of Virat in the list with earnings of ₹ 253.25 crores. The list also includes the retired cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. In the year of his retirement -- 2013 -- the little master was ranked 51 in Forbes list of top 100 highest paid athletes in the world. His popularity is still immense and the master blaster is 9th in the latest list.
Also Read: 2018 Player ratings for India in ODIs
Let's take a look at the earnings of the top 10 Indian Cricketers in 2018:
#10 Jasprit Bumrah- ₹ 16.42 crore
One of the star Indian bowlers of 2018, Jasprit Bumrah earned his place in the top 10 highest-earning cricketers of India. His commercial value increased manifold with his gross annual revenue reaching ₹ 16.42 crore -- growing exponentially from the near ₹ 2 crores it was in 2017.
The speedster was ranked 60th in the list of top 100 celebrities whereas he hadn't even made it to the list in 2017. Bumrah's earnings come from Mumbai Indians in IPL and match fee for India.
In 2018, Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker for India in tests and third highest in ODIs with 48 wickets and 22 wickets, respectively. He became the first Asian bowler to take 5-wicket hauls in Australia, South Africa, and England -- all in the same year.
#9 KL Rahul- ₹ 16.48 crore
The Karnataka boy Lokesh Rahul was ranked 9th in the list of top 10 highest earning cricketers. He jumped to 59th position in Forbes list of top 100 Indian celebrities -- up 30 places from the 89th place in 2017. There was a rise in the gross revenue of the youngster from ₹ 4.04 crore in 2017 to ₹ 16.48 crore in 2018.
Rahul plays in all three formats for India and thus earns a hefty match fee apart from getting a handsome sum from KXIP, for whom he plays in the IPL. He also earns quite a lot through brand endorsements. Puma, Cure.fit and Gully (owned by KL himself) are some of the brands the youngster is associated with.
In 2018, the 26-year-old scored 468 runs in Tests at a below par average of 22.28 with 149 being his best score and solitary century. However, he was the 3rd highest run-scorer for India in T20s as he made 324 runs which include a century and a half-century.
#8 Suresh Raina- ₹ 16.96 crore
In spite of his fluctuating fortunes in cricket, the T20 giant has managed to hold a place in the list of top 10 highest earning cricketers of 2018. The decline in his performance with the bat is evident yet he managed gross an annual earning of ₹ 16.96 crores in 2018. He reportedly has a net worth of ₹ 160 crores currently.
The earnings from IPL comprise the major part of his income and other sources include the match fee from BCCI and brand endorsements. Raina endorses many brands such as Ceat, IPOL Lubricants, and Asics (which recently roped him in to promote its footwear range). Raina lives in a house in Ghaziabad reportedly worth ₹ 18 crores.
He also owns cars of some of the most expensive and luxurious brands such as Mercedes, Porsche, Mini Cooper and BMW. The Indian batsman also invests in the real estate sector which creates some extra earnings for him.
#7 Bhuvneshwar Kumar- ₹ 17.26 crore
Even though Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn't perform as expected in the year 2018-- he registered a 500% jump (approximately) in his annual revenue of ₹ 2.53 crore. In 2018, his gross annual revenue was ₹ 17.26 crore. The Indian pacer was placed 7th among the cricketers and 52nd in the top 100 celebrities in the aforementioned Forbes list.
Most of his earnings come from match fees as part of the national team and quite a lot from IPL. Bhuvneshwar, along with Bumrah, was signed as the brand ambassador for the Japanese sportswear major ASICS. He lives in a luxurious bungalow situated in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Bhuvi also loves to ride cars and bikes.
He owns a Honda CBR and an Audi SUV. In 2016, he was also made the face of the voter awareness campaign in Meerut district.
#6 R Ashwin- ₹ 18.9 crore
Ravichandran Ashwin occupied 6th place in the chart of top 10 Indian cricketers. He played only 10 international matches in 2018. The annual gross income of Ashwin went down to ₹ 18.9 crores from ₹ 34.67 crores in 2017. He also slipped in the list of top 100 celebrities -- down to 44th place from the 23rd a year ago. The spinner also owns 3 luxurious cars worth ₹ 3.3 crores overall and has personal properties reportedly worth ₹ 31 crores.
Other than the national team match fees and earnings from IPL, Ashwin makes money through brand endorsements. He endorses many brands such as Manna Foods, Aristocrat and others.
Throughout the previous year, the right-arm off-break bowler was part of Team India only for Tests and played 10 matches in 2018. In these, he scored 306 runs and scalped 38 wickets at an average of 25.36.
#5 Hardik Pandya- ₹ 28.46 crore
From Mumbai Indians to the Team India, Hardik Pandya has established himself as a reliable all-rounder in the past three years. He was the biggest gainer with more than 800% increase in his annual gross revenue over a span of a year. His earnings rose to ₹ 28.46 crores from the ₹ 3.04 crores in 2017. The youngster also jumped to 27th place in the list of top 100 celebrities from 94th in 2017.
In 2018, Pandya had 8 brand endorsement deals and charged somewhere between ₹ 1.25 crores to ₹ 1.5 crores for each of them. In 2018, various brands such as Gulf Oil, Sin Denim, Zaggle, Boat, EUME, D:FY also signed him as the brand ambassador.
The latest endorsement he signed (along with MS Dhoni) was with Star India for promoting their broadcasting packages. Looking at his popularity among Indian cricket fans, Pandya was one of the favourites for brands in 2018.
#4 Rohit Sharma- ₹ 31.49 crore
Rohit Sharma was disappointing in the test format in 2018 but it had no major effect on his earnings. The Indian openers' annual gross revenue rose to ₹ 31.49 crores from the ₹ 30.82 crores in 2017. He also jumped to 23 from 30 in Forbes list of top 100 Indian celebrities. He scored a total of 7 centuries and almost 2000 runs in all three formats together in 2018 which made him hit among the brands.
The Hitman lives in the glamour city Mumbai -- in a luxurious house of estimated worth of ₹ 30 crores. He is also passionate about cars and owns various cars of big brands. IPL and salary from BCCI are the major sources of his income. On average, he also earns ₹ 7 crores annually through endorsements. In 2018, he signed deals with 4 new brands which include- Sharp TV, Aristocrat, Conket Gadgets and Ceat.
#3 Sachin Tendulkar- ₹ 80 crore
The GOD of cricket has retired from the gentleman's game but not from the commercial pitch. Sachin was the first Indian sportsperson to cross the ₹ 100 crore earnings mark and once the highest-earning sports celebrity in the country. He still holds 3rd place in the list of top 10. The little master's annual gross revenue saw a slim decline from ₹ 82.5 crores in 2017 to ₹ 80 crores in 2018. He also slipped to 9th position in the list of top 100 celebrities.
Sachin was signed by the Apollo Tyres as brand ambassador in 2018. The deal proved he is still one of the most sought after names in the Indian brand market. He was also involved in BMW's M5 and 6 series GT car launch. Some of his own initiatives such as Sachin Quiz app and Middlesex Cricket Academy also contributed a fair share of income. The 45-year-old also gains profit through his investment in Sports franchises and Hotels.
#2 Mahendra Singh Dhoni- ₹ 101.77 crore
Dhoni was the second-highest earning cricketer for India in 2018. He may not have been at his best on the field but was at his best in commercial terms. Dhoni reached the ₹ 100 crores club -- earning ₹ 101.77 crores in 2018. It was way higher than his annual gross revenue of ₹ 63.77 crores in 2017. He also jumped to 5th place from 8th in the list of top 100 earning celebrities.
His place in India's XI in limited over formats was questioned but his popularity and demand among the brands of the Indian market remained unquestionable. He signed 15 new endorsement deals in 2018. Cumulatively, Mahi has 25 brands endorsement deals under his belt currently. Mahi charges ₹ 4-5 crore per endorsement deal.
Dhoni was not consistent on the field but he remained most consistent in the brand market. He also made investments in sports franchises which include Chennaiyin FC, Ranchi Rays (Hockey club), and Mahi Racing Team India. Dhoni's gym chain Sportsfit is also widely popular among Indians and is an additional source of income.
#1 Virat Kohli- ₹ 228.09 crore
The Indian skipper was the spearhead of the top-earning cricketers in 2018. He saw more than 100% increase in his annual revenue. In terms of growth, Virat Kohli was the best performer and his gross annual earning was ₹ 228.09 crores. Indian skipper was just behind Salman Khan, the Bollywood Superstar who registered a gross earning of ₹ 253.25 crores. He lives in a bungalow of value around ₹ 37 crores and also has a huge collection of cars. Other than Toyota Fortuner and Renault Duster, Virat has multiple cars of luxury car manufacturer Audi.
Kohli, who is known to break records on the cricket field, is no less on the commercial pitch. He himself is a brand now as the 30-year-old has created his own business brands such as WROGN and One8. In 2018, Kohli became the face of Uber, Hero Motocorp and is currently endorsing 21 brands. Like Dhoni, he also invests in sports franchises which include- FC Goa (ISL team), UAE Royal (ITPL tennis team) and runs his own gym chain by the name of Chisel.
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