Virat Kohli richest in IPL with ₹230 crore earnings:Rohit Sharma second, MS Dhoni third; KKR most valuable team at ₹19,200 crore

Virat Kohli has become the highest-earning player in the IPL, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru talisman has earned ₹230 crore. This claim has been made in the latest report by Fanatic Sports and Hurun India. This report is based on a study of 1,323 elite athletes from 504 cities across 53 countries and 6 sports leagues. Fanatic Sports is a ticketing and hospitality company that manages sports-related travel and events. Meanwhile, Hurun India is a research and valuation company known for its rich lists and business reports. Virat Kohli surpasses Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni Virat Kohli is at number 1 in the list of the richest players in the IPL. He has been continuously playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since 2008 and has received a salary of ₹230 crore till now. Virat is also the biggest star of the league in terms of brand value. In this list, former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is at number two with earnings of ₹227.2 crore. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings (CSK)’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in third place with a salary of ₹200 crore. Dhoni is still a big commercial icon of Indian cricket and IPL, even though he did not play any matches in the IPL 2026 season till date. In women’s cricket, Smriti Mandhana is at the top with earnings of ₹13.7 crore. The total earnings of the country’s top 10 women cricketers are ₹90 crore, which is less than half of Virat Kohli’s IPL earnings of ₹230 crore. In other sports, this gap is even wider. Kolkata at the top, Mumbai-Chennai’s value equal In franchise valuation, Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla’s Kolkata Knight Riders is the most valuable franchise. Its value is ₹19,200 crore. It has become the country’s most valuable IPL franchise. Following this are Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The valuation of both teams is estimated at around ₹18,400 crore. The total valuation of all 10 IPL franchises has now reached ₹1.63 lakh crore. Indian League challenging NFL and EPL According to the report, IPL franchises’ revenue is coming from tickets, broadcasting rights, sponsorship, merchandise, digital content, and global fan engagement. Due to this, the Indian league IPL is now competing with USA’s NFL and the Premier League in terms of valuation. The average valuation of IPL franchises could increase from $1.8 billion to $15 billion by 2032. This will lead to a manifold increase in the value of the teams. Hockey players earnings in lakhs compared to crorepati cricketers Indian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh is the highest-earning player in the Hockey India League (HIL), but his earnings are only ₹78 lakh. Forward Abhishek Nain gets ₹72 lakh, and Hardik Singh gets ₹70 lakh. This clearly shows cricket’s dominance in India’s commercial sports market. Despite a large difference in earnings, hockey has succeeded in nurturing grassroots talent and maintaining popularity. Players like 14-year-old Ketan Kushwaha, 15-year-old Purti Ashish Tani and Rahul Yadav are examples of this. Sundargarh in Odisha is the only district in the country that has produced 12 major athletes in Hurun’s Elite Ranking. Not just a sport, IPL has become a gateway for global investment This financial explosion of IPL is no longer limited to cricket. It has become a global entertainment property, where big investors and venture capitalists are investing money. IPL has become a major medium for building big brands for athletes and bringing foreign sports capital to India. As the valuation of franchises and players’ salaries are increasing, IPL could soon reach the level of the world’s biggest sports leagues. If the report’s estimates prove correct, Indian cricket will enter a new financial space in the coming decade, which was unimaginable in 2008.