Captains of men’s cricket teams and their salaries in 2021

Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world after football. Cricket boards of major countries make a lot of money and pay heavily to their skippers.

The captain’s role is not just limited to the field, but he represents his nation in the sport everywhere he makes an appearance. He is the one who manages the side, plans the tactics and helps them change their course of destinies during horrendous phases.

Hence, it is justified that the captains get paid a lot.

Here are nine teams and the salary of their leaders:-

Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka Test Captain) – 51.03 lakhs

Sri Lanka was a team to reckon with till legends like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Tillakaratne Dilshan – played for the nation. But, once the stalwarts retired, Lanka found itself in tatters.

They changed 5-6 captains to be sure who could take them to a reputable position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings.

The selectors unanimously turned their faces to Dimuth Karunaratne, who led the side to their famous overseas Test win against South Africa in 2019.

However, things haven’t been all sunshine for the Lions, who could only emerge victorious in 3 of the next 12 red-ball matches.

As per the latest contracts, Karunaratne, who captains the Test team, earns about USD 70,000 annually.

Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka Limited Over Captain)- 25 lakhs

Kusal Perera was recently given the reins of the limited-overs team when Karunaratne was sacked despite winning 10 out of 16 ODIs.
Perera didn’t have a good time as he lost his first ODI series against Bangladesh 1-2.

The left-handed batsman supposedly earns USD 35,000 per year, while it remains to be seen if the management decided to rope in Perera as the T20I skipper in place of Dasun Shanaka, who earns USD 65,000.

Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain)- 62.40 lakhs

Babar Azam has established himself as the mainstay of the Pakistan team and took over the duties of the captain from Azhar Ali in the red-ball format and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the limited-overs format in 2020.

Babar has proved his mettle as a skipper since Pakistan won all four Test matches, 4 out of 6 ODIs and 13 T20Is from the 21 contests they participated in.

As of now, the right-handed batter draws a salary of 13.2 Million PKR, which is around INR 62.40 lakhs.

Kieron Pollard (West Indies Limited Over captain)- INR 1.73 crores

Kieron Pollard was announced as the captain for the limited-overs format after a dismal show by the West Indies in the 2019 World Cup.

Pollard earns USD 250,000, which is approximately INR 1.73 crores for his white-ball campaigns.

This has also led veteran players like Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell to come back to the national side.

Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies Test captain)- INR 1.39 crores

Kraigg Brathwaite was named as the skipper for the longest format after Jason Holder declined to participate in the team.

Brathwaite helped his side whitewash Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, albeit failed to register any wins after that.

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) has given Braithwaite another chance as he fetches USD 200,000 (INR 1.39 crores) per season.

Kane Williamson (New Zealand skipper)– INR 3.19 crores

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has his own orthodox captaincy methods. Williamson is known to be very patient who waits for the right time to use his aggressive tactics.

Under his leadership, the Black Caps entered the finals of the ICC World Cup 2019 and have now qualified to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India.

The veteran batsman draws USD 440,000 annually, which includes a USD 40,000 bonus for being the side’s captain.

Temba Bavuma (South Africa Limited Over captain)- INR 2.5 crores

Temba Bavuma is the first Black African to be the permanent captain of the Proteas team. Bavuma has led his side to a solitary victory in the three ODIs against Pakistan.

Though Bavuma was ruled out in the T20I series against Pakistan due to a hamstring strain, he remains the official skipper in the shortest format as well.

AS per the latest contracts, Bavuma receives USD 350,000 as his salary.

Dean Elgar (South Africa Test Captain)- INR 5.4 crores

Dean Elgar replaced Quinton de Kock as the captain of the Test team. de Kock was axed from captaincy since Cricket South Africa (CSA) director Graeme Smith felt that it would help the former perform better with the bat.

Meanwhile, Elgar’s first assignment would be against West Indies in June in an away series. Elgar reportedly draws USD 450,000 for his contract with CSA.

Aaron Finch (Australia’s limited over captain)- INR 5.4 crores

Aaron Finch was roped in as the permanent captain of the Australian side after Steve Smith was banned for a year following the ball-tampering controversy.

Finch helped his side grab semi-final birth in the tournament before being ousted by the World Cup winners for that edition- England.
Overall, the right-hander has secured 23 wins from 41 ODIs and 22 victories in 43 T20Is.

Finch earns about USD 750,000 from the cricket board.

Tim Paine (Australia’s Test Captain)- 2 crores

Tim Paine was handed over the captaincy responsibilities after Steve Smith was sent back home along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft due to their involvement in the ball-tampering incident.

Paine drew the 2019 Ashes in England and helped his side retain the trophy. Although the wicket-keeper batsman lost the recent Border Gavaskar trophy against India in a dramatic fashion, he will lead the team for the 2021 Ashes at home.

Paine makes approximately USD 278,000 under his new contract.

Virat Kohli (India’s captain)- INR 7 crores

Virat Kohli has helped India occupy the numero-uno spot in Test rankings and qualify for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final.

In the ICC Men’s ODI rankings, India is placed at the third position, just behind New Zealand and Australia.

Though India have reached the cusp of winning major ICC trophies, the team lost due to its misfortunes.

Yet Kohli has risen to the occasion with his power-packed performances whenever needed.

The Indian skipper is placed in Grade A+ contracts of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and receives INR 7 crores as his annual salary.

Eoin Morgan (England’s limited over captain)- INR 1.75 crores

Eoin Morgan led England to their first ICC Men’s World Cup in 2019. Morgan is regarded as one of the best limited over skippers to have captained the Three Lions.

Overall, England have won 72 out of 121 ODIs and 33 from the 57 T20Is they participated in.

Though England lost the T20I series against India, Morgan would be looking to turn the tides in his favour in the T20 World Cup slated to be played later this year.

The 34-years-old apparently draws GBP 170,000 for his services.

Joe Root (England’s Test Captain)- INR 8.97 crores

Joe Root is the highest-earning captain on this list. Although Root hasn’t secured any Ashes Trophy in his two attempts, he still remains the favourite for England Cricket Board (ECB).

The prolific run-scorer has helped his side defeat South Africa and India at home.

Given the charge of captaincy after Alastair Cook stepped down in 2017, Root earns GBP 870,000 annually.