Virat Kohli Salary Greater than salary of All Pakistan players
Virat Kohli monthly salary for Team India is equal to Babar Azam’s annual salary as Pakistan Cricket Board announces the central contracts for their players for 2020-21.
In the tough and pandemic environment of COVID-19, the Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the central contracts for the Pakistani players for 2020-21. Under the new contract, Pakistan’s top three players, Babar Azam, Azar Ali & Shaheen Afridi have been awarded the top category of PKR 12.1 Million (USD 80K) annually.
Similarly, the second category of PKR 9 Million (USD USD 60K) has 9 players, whereas the third category of PKR 6.6 Million (USD 40K) has 6 players. There is also an emerging players category which has three players, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Husnain. Surprisingly, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, and Wahaz Riaz have been left out of the contract.
Complete list of Salaries of Pakistan Players for 2020-21:
Category A: Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Cat B: Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shan Masood, and Yasir Shah
Cat C: Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Naseem Shah, and Usman Shinwari
Emerging Players’ Category: Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Hasnain.
Virat Kohli vs Pakistan Players Salary Comparison:
If we compare the salaries of the top cricketers of India, you would find a drastic difference. Team India’s top cricketers in Grade A+, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma & Jasprit Bumrah earn INR 70 Million (USD 900K) each. Compare that with the Pakistani cricketers, and one would realize that Virat Kohli & Co’s monthly salary is almost equal to the annual salary of Babar Azam and Co.
Similarly, in the second bracket, Pakistan have some of the top cricketers like Haris Sohail, former ODI team captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Abid Ali, and 5 more players. They are getting an annual salary of USD 60K. Compare that with Grade A players for Team India like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, etc, who get an annual salary of USD 700K.
The third category players for Pakistan get an annual salary of USD 40K. This includes the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, and 3 more players. Compare that with Grade B players of Team India, who get an annual salary of USD 400K. This includes the likes of Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, etc.
Overall, Pakistan have awarded the central contract to 21 players, whereas BCCI has awarded central contracts to 27 players. In terms of amount, Pakistan are spending ~USD 1 Million in total on their players. Surprisingly, this is almost equivalent to the annual salary of Virat Kohli, which is USD 0.9 Million.
Conclusion:
To summarize, the difference between the salaries of Indian and Pakistan players is quite drastic. While there is nothing against the salaries of Pakistan players, the salaries of Indian players show why BCCI is known as the richest board in the world.
Thanks for reading! Are you happy with the salary bifurcation of India and Pakistan players? Please, let us know in the comments.
ALSO READ: Sneak Peek into the official Salaries of Indian Cricketers for 2019-20
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics with over 20 years of experience following Cricket.
Cricket to him is like what Football is to Lionel Messi, Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar, Dancing is to Michael Jackson, and Acting is to Clint Eastwood.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
