Richest Cricketers in the World

Here is a brief overview of the top 10 richest cricketers in the world.

1. Sachin Tendulkar – Net Worth: $115 Million

Sachin Tendulkar is a former Indian cricketer who holds the title “God of Cricket”. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He is the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain of Mumbai Indians in the inaugural IPL tournament in 2008. As an icon player he earned $1,121,250, 15 percent more than the second highest played player in the team.

2. Ricky Ponting – Net Worth: $65 Million

This Australian former cricketer and former captain of Australian national team led his team to victory at the 2003 and 2007 cricket world cups.

3. Saurav Ganguly – Net Worth: $55.5 Million

Saurav Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer and former captain of the Indian national side. Currently he is the president of the editorial board with Wisden India and a cricket commentator.

4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Net Worth: $51 Million

M. S. Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the captain of the Indian cricket team. He is a wicket keeper batsman. Under his captaincy India won 2007 ICC World Twenty20, The CB Series of 2007-08, the 2007 Asia Cup, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

5. Imran Khan – Net Worth: $50 Million

This Pakistani politician and former cricketer was Pakistan’s most successful cricket captain. He led his nation to victory at the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Imran Khan is also a cricket commentator, philanthropist, Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Founding Chairman of Board of Governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center. He also founded Namal College, Mianwali.

6. Shane Warne – Net Worth: $50 Million

This Australian former international cricketer is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. He won the first edition of the Indian Premier League in March 2008. He was both the captain and the coach of Rajasthan Royals.

7. Virender Sehwag – Net Worth: $40 Million

This Indian cricketer is an aggressive right handed batsman and a part time right arm off spin bowler. In July 2014 he played for the Rest of the World side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord’s.

8. Yuvraj Singh – Net Worth: $35.5 Million

This Indian international cricketer is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left arm orthodox. In 2014 he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping $2.3 million.

9. Matthew Fleming – Net Worth: $30 Million

This former cricketer played for Kent and England. This all-rounder was a hard hitting batsman and a medium pace bowler.

10. Yusuf Pathan – Net Worth: $26.5 Million

Yusuf Pathan is an Indian cricketer. He is a right handed batsman and a right arm off-break bowler. On 24th May 2014, he hit the fastest fifty in IPL history (15 balls).

Allan Border Medal - The top-five contenders

Named after Allan Border, the former Australia captain, the Allan Border Medal is awarded to the best Australian cricketer across formats, based on their performance in a calendar year. The votes are cast after each match by players, umpires and media.

The award that was first given out in the year 2000, has seen Glenn McGrath, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting (4 times), Michael Clarke (4 times), Brett Lee, Shane Watson (2 times), Mitchell Johnson and Steven Smith win previously.

During the award ceremony, the best One-Day International (ODI) player, best Test player, best young player, best woman cricketer, best Twenty20 (T20) player and best state player are also awarded for their performances.

Here, we look at the top five contenders for the Allan Border Medal 2016 (in alphabetic order), which is based on their performances in the year 2015:

1.David Warner

In 2015, the diminutive left-hander brought consistency to his explosiveness - which proved to be a deadly combination as Australia went on their resurgence spree without much fuss. He offered stability and fire-power at top of the order, allowing the likes of Adam Voges and Steven Smith to pile misery on the opposition bowlers.

He was Australia's second highest run-getter in ODIs and Tests, scoring 1973 runs across formats. His form earned him a spot in ICC's Team of the Year and helped Australia be the most dominant side of 2015.

2. Josh Hazlewood

To complement the pace of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson - the leaders of Australia's pace attack, came a certain Josh Hazlewood. There is nothing threatening about his bowling, much unlike the two left-armers who can unleash terror with pace. Yet, he proved to be effective

Having made his Test debut in December 2014 against India, the lanky Australian seamer, with nagging Glenn McGrath-esque line and length bowling, went on to become Australia's most reliable bowler in 2015.

When the entire bowling unit struggled during the 1-3 defeat against England in Ashes, Hazlewood stood out, bagging 16 wickets at an average of 25.75 and a strike rate of 42. He went on to grab 13 wickets against New Zealand in the three-Test series, including nine in the first day-night Test with pink ball.

He finished the year as Australia's highest wicket-taker in Tests (and third-highest overall) with 51 scalps in 12 matches.

3. Mitchell Starc

The left-armer took his game a notch up, just at the right time to takeover the mantle of leading Australia's pace attack in the year in which Mitchell Johnson retired from international cricket. With extreme pace and good accuracy, he ran through teams across formats, and was largely instrumental in Australia winning the ICC World Cup in 2015.

With his pace clocking around and above 150 kmph on a consistent basis, batsmen across world had little answer to his late in-swingers, which either had them trapped in front of the wicket or left their stumps damaged.

With 41 wickets in 18 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), he finished the year as the highest wicket-taker in the world. He was also the joint highest wicket-taker in the World Cup with 22 scalps at an average of 10.18. His efforts in ODIs overshadowed his performance in the longer format, where he had 46 victims in 11 matches. He was, arguably, the best bowler of 2015.

4. Nathan Lyon

The perennial search for the 'next Shane Warne' was on, when Nathan Lyon, maybe not as good, slowly cemented his place in the Australian side. Comparisons with the legendary leg-spinner would be harsh on him, but he proved to be effective.

Playing all his 13 Tests in Australia or England, barring the two-Test series in West Indies, Lyon bagged 48 wickets - second highest by an Australian and fifth highest overall. His form helped Australia to bring variety into the attack and depend on a spinner to take wickets.

He may not be the strongest contender for the title, but he proved to be an invaluable asset to the side. 

5. Steven Smith

The leg-spinner-turned batsman had almost everything going right for him in 2015. The year that started out with him getting the Test captaincy, ended with him holding reins of an Australia's ODI team that created a record of most consecutive wins. Amidst all that, there was a level of surreal consistency with which he shuffled across his stumps to flick the ball through the leg-side and collected 2369 international runs.

Having topped the run-charts for Australia in all three formats, Smith is clearly the favourite to win the Allan Border Medal this year. The only blip came in England - when Australia lost the Ashes series and his batting technique countered challenge in swinging conditions.