Pakistan's crew neglected compensations report features abundance hole among cricket's driving countries
Saturday, November 04, 2023
Recent revelations that players in Pakistan's squad for the ongoing World Cup in India have not been paid for five months have again highlighted the wealth gap between cricket's leading nations.
Below, AFP Sport takes a look at cricket's 'haves' and 'have nots'.
India
Superstar batsman Virat Kohli leads the list of India's highest-paid athletes with earnings of $33.9 million, mainly from brand endorsements, according to Sportico's 2022 list of analysts.
A growing economy in the world's most populous country coupled with a fanatical love for cricket has turned India into a financial powerhouse of the global game.
In the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20, the world's best cricketers earn sums unimaginable to previous generations of players.
India captain Rohit Sharma, who like Kohli also boasts a lucrative IPL deal and brand endorsement, has an estimated earnings of $25.84 million.
England
Under England's complex central contract system, top stars across all formats, such as Ben Stokes, can earn in the region of £800-900,000 ($977,000-$1.09 million) a year.
Match fees for Tests range from £15,000 ($18,562) to £4,500 ($5,568) for one-day internationals.
Franchise cricket offers another source of income, with Sam Curran becoming the most expensive player in the IPL auction when the Punjab Kings signed the left-arm paceman for $2.23 million in December.
England, enduring a woeful defense of their World Cup title, recently handed out multi-year contracts for the first time in a bid to prevent top players from leaving the international arena altogether for the franchise circuit.
Australia
Test and one-day captain Pat Cummins is reportedly on track to become Australia's first Aus$3 million ($1.9 million) man after centrally contracted men's players received a 7.5 per cent rise this year.
Cummins has a retainer of Aus$2 million, which will rise to around Aus$3 million with match fees and bonuses for being captain, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The average deposit for centrally contracted players in the 2023-24 season is Aus$951,000, plus match fees.
Bangladesh/Sri Lanka
The economies of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are simply not large enough to generate the kind of mega commercial deals that their neighboring Indian counterparts have.
But their best players still feature in the IPL, with Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga earning a $1.43 million contract from Royal Challengers Bangalore last year.
Shakib Al Hasan remains Bangladesh's star player with an estimated net worth of $75 million from a mix of T20 deals, national contracts and endorsements.
Pakistan
Pakistan's star players are denied access to the riches of the IPL as they have been effectively barred from the tournament for political reasons.
The relative weakness of their national economy compared to the "Big Three" of India, England and Australia is reflected in the central contract system, where players in the elite A category are paid six million Pakistani rupees ($21,552) a month, equivalent to an annual sum of $258,624 .
International regulars can supplement these offers with match fees, including a rate of PKR 475,000 ($1,706).
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, one of the world's leading batsmen across all formats, has an estimated net worth of up to $5 million, according to Sportskeeda research.
South Africa
South Africa's top players have basic annual contracts ranging from around 1.2 million rand ($65,000) to 3 million rand ($160,000).
This amount can be doubled by match fees, bonuses and business deals, with a separate World Cup rights deal where the Proteas were one of the formal teams.
Even so, South Africa's leading players earn less playing for their country than playing in franchise cricket.
Kagiso Rabada earned $0.11 million playing in the IPL in 2023 with form batsman Quinton de Kock, who plans to retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup, about $810,000.
New Zealand
Trent Boult is said to be the Black Caps' highest-paid player, paying NZ$2.7 million ($1.6 million) in overseas deals, according to the New Zealand Herald, despite the seamer turning down a national central contract in 2022.
Most of this income came from his IPL stint with Rajasthan Royals, but he also earned lucrative T20 contracts in Australia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Black Caps world batsman Kane Williamson reportedly earns more than NZ$1 million from his central cricket contract in New Zealand, his IPL side Gujarat Titans and endorsements.
The maximum possible salary among New Zealand's top 20 players is NZ$523,396 ($313,880), plus match fees of up to NZ$10,250 ($6,146) per Test match.
Afghanistan
The Afghanistan Cricket Board does not release details of the major contracts, but some media outlets claim that Mohammad Nabi is paid $8,400 a month, while star spinner Rashid Khan is paid a meager $4,800.
However, Rashid is a multi-millionaire due to his regular availability in franchise T20 leagues.
Last season, he earned $1.8 million from his contract with Gujarat in the IPL.
Holland
Media reports claim that captain Scott Edwards is on $100,000 for the non-Test playing country, while highly rated all-rounder Bas de Leede is paid $45,000.
