MS Dhoni to become first player to earn 150 crores in Indian T20 League

Having led Team Chennai to eight Indian T20 League finals and winning the title as many as three times, Mahindra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly the most sought-after player in the cash-rich T20 tournament.

MS Dhoni has also taken Chennai to the playoff stages 10 times with his yellow army enjoying the highest win percentage (61.28 per cent) among all teams in the Indian T20 League. And the 39-year-old is being rewarded for the same as he will become the first player to earn a whopping 150 crores in total from the T20 tournament in the upcoming edition, according to the Inside Sport website.

That’s an average of just over 12.7 crores per year. MS Dhoni’s salary per month equates to about Rs 90 lakhs per month through the Indian T20 League alone. This excludes sponsorship and endorsements and income from other sources.

MS Dhoni was still basking in the glory of India’s 2007 ICC T20I World Cup win when Chennai had approached him to be their marquee player. The Jharkhand-lad had put pen to paper for the franchise for a sum of Rs six crores in 2008.

After playing for the same salary in the following two seasons, MS Dhoni led Chennai to their very first Indian T20 League title win in 2010. He then entered the 2011 Indian T20 League as the captain of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team that year, further boosting his value.

Since then, MS Dhoni has won the Indian T20 League twice in 2011 and 2018, with his last increment coming during Chennai’s third and last title.

MS Dhoni salary progression in Indian T20 League

The Thala, as the former Indian captain is fondly called in Chennai, tops the list of the costliest players in the Indian T20 League. Dhoni’s total salary amounts to Rs 152,84,00,000 and is followed by star Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma (146.6 crores) and Virat Kohli (143.2 crores), respectively.

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP