MS Dhoni leaves Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma behind with Rs 137 crore IPL earnings

Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh also feature in the top 5 highest earners in IPL history.

MS Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the most loved and cherished cricketers India has ever produced. His popularity has rivaled that of the great Sachin Tendulkar and his fandom has reached insane levels, thanks to social media and his involvement in the Indian Premier League, apart from his accomplishments for the Indian cricket team.

He was bought by the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the auction for the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 for USD 1.5 Million.

And now according to a report from Inside Sports Money Ball, MS Dhoni has an income of over Rs 137 crore from the Indian Premier League. He earned the same amount in IPL 2009 and 2010 for which he was bought in 2008.

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From IPL 2011 to 2013, he earned nearly Rs 8.2 crore. In 2014, the BCCI raised the first-choice retention fees to 12.5 crores. Hence, Dhoni earned that amount in IPL 2014 and 2015. At Rising Pune Supergiant as well, he earned the same amount for two years.

Before the IPL 2018, the BCCI increased the first-choice retention price to Rs 15 crore. Hence, Dhoni has earned Rs 45 crore in the past three seasons. In total, he has earned over Rs 137 crore.

Dhoni’s earnings mean that he has left behind the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in terms of IPL money.

In comparison, Rohit Sharma earned Rs 3 crore during his time at Deccan Chargers - from 2008 to 2010. From 2011 to 2013, he earned Rs 9.2 crore at Mumbai Indians every year. Since he was the captain, Rohit became the first-choice retention player in IPL 2014 and his price was Rs 15 crore.

Since then, he has been matching Dhoni's amount every year. In total, he has earned over Rs 131 crore.

Virat Kohli remains the only one franchise player, being part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since 2008. So far he has earned 126 crore INR in the IPL.

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Back in 2008, Kohli was uncapped and was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rs 12 lakhs. He received the same amount in IPL 2009 and 2010.

Virat Kohli was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore retained in IPL 2011 and he earned Rs 8.2 crore from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, he also joined the top bracket and received Rs 12.5 crore for the next four seasons.

In IPL 2018, Virat Kohli shattered all past records by having a price of Rs 17 crore, which was Rs 2 crore more than the highest retention price. He has been receiving that price since 2018 and has earned Rs 51 crore in the past three editions.

The top five highest earners in IPL history also include Suresh Raina (Rs 99 crores) and Yuvraj Singh (Rs 84 crores).

(DNAIndia inputs)